US Stocks end mixed on banks contagion woes

The US stocks ended session on a mixed note after recovering an early setback on Monday, 13 March 2023, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P500 indexes below neutral line, weighed down by tumbling bank stocks amid fear of contagion from the collapse of SVB Financial Group, while the Nasdaq managed to close in positive territory.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index declined 90.50 points, or 0.28%, to 31,819.14. The S&P500 index dropped 5.83 points, or 0.15%, to 3,855.76. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index increased 49.96 points, or 0.45%, to 11,188.84.

Total 8 of 11 S&P500 sectors ended higher. Financials was worst performing sector, falling 3.8%, followed by materials (down 1.1%). Real estate was top performing sector, rising 1.6%, followed by utilities (up 1.54%) and healthcare (up 0.9%) sectors.

Wall Street commenced the week with a quite bearish as rising concerns over the fallout from the Silicon Valley Bank collapse triggered heavy selling, particularly in the banking sector. Regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank on Friday and New York-based Signature Bank on Sunday.

The assurance from the U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that they would "fully protect" depositors, including those with assets above the federally guaranteed $250,000 limit, helped lift sentiment.

Meanwhile, expectation that the Fed will pause its tightening cycle due to the debacle in the banking sector contributed as well to the market's recovery.

Shares of banks and financials were major drag on the market. Among big banks, JPMorgan Chase & Co fell 2.7% and Bank of America Corp was down 7.4%.

Shares of First Republic Bank were down 65% before they were halted, reaching a new 52-week low. First Republic over the weekend said it had added available funding through the Fed and JPMorgan.

Shares of PacWest Bancorp were down 51% and halted. KeyCorp shares were down 26% and Comerica Inc fell 39% and also halted.

Among Indian ADR, INFOSYS was down 0.4% at $17.27, Azure Power Global fell 26% to $1.99, Wipro was down 0.4% at $4.67, ICICI Bank fell 1.62% to $20.01. and HDFC Bank fell 1.16% at $63.67. Dr Reddy's labs added 0.6% to $53.75. WNS Holdings was steady at $89.62.

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