S&P 500 ends up slightly; SVB deal lifts bank shares

The Dow was up and down in a 300-point range 3 times during the day before falling in the final hour to close up 194.  The others had similar seesaw action.  SVB being shored up boosted the banking index again and First Republic shot up nearly 12% on reports that more federal support was likely coming for banks.  So it was good news for the financial sector and, though tech suffered losses today, Q3 will be strong for them so today’s selling was likely profit-taking. Trading continues to settle down with volume well below the recent averages at 10.3 billion. 

Mon  March 27, 2023  4:54 PM

S&P 500 ends up slightly; SVB deal lifts bank shares

By Caroline Valetkevitch

DJ: 32,237.53  +132.28        NAS: 11,823.96  +36.56        S&P: 3,970.99  +22.27     3/24

DJ: 32,432.08  +194.55        NAS: 11,768.84  -55.12         S&P: 3,977.53  +6.54       3/27

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Monday as a deal for Silicon Valley Bank's assets helped to boost bank shares, while a decline in technology-related stocks limited the day's gains.  The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) rose 3.1%, while the KBW regional banking index (.KRX) ended up 0.6%.  JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) shares climbed 2.9% and Bank of America (BAC.N) added 5%. They were among stocks giving the S&P 500 its biggest boost on Monday.  Shares of First Citizens BancShares Inc (FCNCA.O) shot up more than 50% after it said it would acquire the deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bank, which failed earlier this month in the largest bank collapse since the 2008 financial crisis.  Also, shares of First Republic Bank (FRC.N) were up 11.8% after Bloomberg reported U.S. authorities were considering more support for banks, which could give the struggling First Republic more time to shore up its balance sheet.  Tech-related growth shares were lower, however, and the Nasdaq ended down on the day.

"There's still a lot going on in the financial sector, and it's actually good news today," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.  But tech and growth stocks have "had a very strong quarter, so there may be some profit-taking as we head into the end of the quarter."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 194.55 points, or 0.6%, to 32,432.08, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 6.54 points, or 0.16%, to 3,977.53 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 55.12 points, or 0.47%, to 11,768.84.

Shares of Apple (AAPL.O) were down 1.2%. The S&P 500 technology index (.SPLRCT) is up more than 16% for the quarter so far.  Crypto shares were also down Monday after the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said crypto exchange Binance and its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao have been sued by the CFTC for operating an "illegal" exchange and a "sham" compliance program.  Among other stock gainers, Walt Disney (DIS.N) shares ended up 1.6% after the company began 7,000 in layoffs announced earlier this year.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 2.57-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.44-to-1 ratio favored advancers.  The S&P 500 posted 6 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 56 new highs and 128 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.32 billion shares, compared with the 12.9 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.