WDO:CC - Stocks Run Slump to 4 Sessions
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.
T
he Dow Jones Industrials parted with 286.30 points to end Thursday at 33,127.94.
The S&P 500 lost 29.38 points to 4,061.37.
The NASDAQ Composite swooned 58.93 points to 11,966.40.
The Dow turned negative for the year on Thursday, pulling back 0.06% year to date. Declines in Boeing, Disney, Goldman Sachs and American Express shares pulled back the Dow.
Shares of PacWest tanked by more than 50%. Regional bank shares sold off hard, as Western Alliance tumbled 38% and saw trading halted multiple times due to volatility. Meanwhile, Zions Bancorporation lost 12%.
April's nonfarm payrolls report is due Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET, as well as numbers on the unemployment rate.
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 climbed, lowering yields to 3.36% from Tuesday's 3.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices dropped 16 cents to $68.44 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $20.10 to $2,057.10 U.S. an ounce.