IND - Stock futures inch higher after Dow falls for fourth straight session

2023-05-12 06:55:47 ET

U.S. stock futures are slightly higher following a volatile week that included worries over the debt ceiling and regional bank health. At the time of writing, contracts linked to the Dow ( INDU ) and S&P 500 ( SPX ) are up 0.4% , while Nasdaq futures ( NDX:IND ) are ahead by 0.2% .

The U.S. debt-limit gathering initially set for today between President Biden and congressional leaders, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has been pushed to next week as staff keep negotiating. There was little progress after the group's meeting on Tuesday, meaning the partisan standoff remains as the so-called X-date approaches as early as June 1 . At the G7 finance ministers meeting this week in Niigata, Japan, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also said she doubted whether the 14th Amendment would be an effective solution , saying "it's legally questionable whether or not that's a viable strategy."

In terms of the markets, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon weighed on what the debt ceiling impasse would mean for stocks and Treasuries, adding that a default would be "potentially catastrophic" and the closer you get to it investors will "panic." Meanwhile, there are renewed concerns about regional banks following a heavy selloff on Thursday.

PacWest continued to plunge after pledging more collateral to allow for additional borrowing under the Fed's discount window ,after disclosing that it lost 9.5% of its total deposits last week. "These recent events, and the ongoing news coverage of these events, has increased certain risks and uncertainties related to our business and future prospects," PacWest wrote in a filing .

While some have expressed optimism that the worst of the banking crisis is over, others have been contemplating the risks that remain, and if stress in the sector will spill over into the broader economy. Jamie Dimon even suggested that regulators should look into banning the short selling of bank stocks .

Elsewhere, Tesla rose modestly after Elon Musk said he found a woman (Linda Yaccarino?) to lead Twitter , Bitcoin fell to its lowest level since March , and the University of Michigan will publish its Consumer Sentiment survey at 10 AM ET .

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