ZION - Dow Loses 300+ Day after Fed
Stocks declined Thursday, as contagion fears in the regional bank space were reignited. Investors also digested the Federal Reserve's 25 basis point rate hike and commentary following its Wednesday meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrials dumped 342.23 points, or 1%, to 33,072.01, Declines in Boeing, Disney, Goldman Sachs and American Express shares pulled back the Dow.
The S&P 500 lost 31.18 points to 4,059.57.
The NASDAQ Composite faltered 62.58 points to 11,962.74.
Regional bank shares sold off hard, Western Alliance tumbled 39% and saw trading halted multiple times due to volatility. Meanwhile, Zions Bancorporation lost 13%.
There likely won't be a respite for the embattled regional banking sector until the Fed cuts interest rates, said Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine. Since the closure of Silicon Valley Bank in March, First Republic has joined the ranks of failed institutions and was recently taken over by JPMorgan Chase.
As the Fed pushed through its 10th rate hike in this cycle and the central bank seemed to soften its language on future increases, Chair Jerome Powell said that it may be too soon to cut.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury moved up, lowering yields to 3.36% from Tuesday's 3.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded $3.48 to $68.18 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $21.00 to $2,044.30 U.S. an ounce.