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 424.39 points, or 1.3%, to move into noon hour Thursday at 32,989.95.
The S&P 500 lost 35.97 points to 4,054.78.
The NASDAQ Composite swooned 66.12 points to 11,995.21.
The Dow turned negative 0.1% year to date on Thursday. Declines in Boeing, Disney, Goldman Sachs and American Express shares pulled back the Dow.
Shares of PacWest tanked by more than 50%. The decline came after news that the California bank has been assessing strategic options, including a possible sale. Regional bank shares sold off hard. Western Alliance tumbled 43% and saw trading halted multiple times due to volatility. Meanwhile, Zions Bancorporation lost 8.2%.
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 3.32% from Tuesday's 3.42%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices ditched a nickel to $68.55 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices recovered $24.10 to $2,061.10 U.S. an ounce.