- US, European markets rise as investors weigh rates, earnings
- In Colombia, children trade plastic waste for school supplies
- JPMorgan Chase profits top estimates, bank sees 'resilient' US economy
- Little progress at key meet ahead of COP29 climate summit
- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
RIO | 0.67% | 67.293 | $ | |
BTI | 0.21% | 35.185 | $ | |
BP | -0.48% | 32.185 | $ | |
GSK | -1.15% | 38.765 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.32% | 24.67 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.03% | 59.49 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.6% | 24.919 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.71% | 7 | $ | |
AZN | 0.43% | 77.205 | $ | |
NGG | 0.88% | 66.26 | $ | |
SCS | 2.06% | 12.865 | $ | |
RELX | 1.04% | 46.845 | $ | |
VOD | -1.03% | 9.641 | $ | |
JRI | 0.3% | 13.26 | $ | |
BCC | 1.77% | 141.459 | $ | |
BCE | 0.56% | 33.045 | $ |
Bank fears return to haunt global stock markets
Stocks markets tumbled again on Friday as fears of a banking crisis resurfaced despite massive financial lifelines thrown at embattled lenders to prevent contagion across the sector.
Markets had rallied on Thursday after Wall Street titans including JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup pledged to inject $30 billion into First Republic Bank.
Credit Suisse had also rebounded after it said it would borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss central bank.
But shares of First Republic Bank and Credit Suisse dove back deep in the red on Friday, with the US lender slumping 33 percent and Switzerland's second biggest bank dropping eight percent.
The stock prices of other major banks also fell, with JP Morgan, Citigroup and Bank of America down at least three percent.
The wider markets were also in the red. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 finished down 1.1 percent.
In Europe, London stocks closed down 1.0 percent, while Frankfurt slumped 1.3 percent and Paris dropped 1.4 percent to cap a rollercoaster week.
"The negative disposition for the broader market has a familiar driver: worries about the state of the banking industry," said market analyst Patrick O'Hare at Briefing.com.
Banks stepped in to save First Republic over fears it could suffer a run of withdrawals by customers worried it would follow US lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, which went under last week and fueled fears of another financial crisis.
O'Hare said the market was unnerved by data showing that bank borrowing from the US Federal Reserve's discount window hit a record high of approximately $153 billion for the week ending March 15, "exceeding anything seen during the financial crisis."
The Fed's discount window allows banks to quickly access funds, providing them with liquidity when customers withdraw more deposits than expected, and the record figure is an indication of stress in the sector.
"This week has been a liquidity crisis, but it seems that the moves by authorities to remedy the situation have not completely reassured wary investors," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
The dollar fell against its major rivals, while oil prices sank more than four percent at one point before clawing back some of that ground.
"Oil prices have been pummelled this week as turmoil in the banking sector has increased the risk of a significant economic slowdown or recession this year," said market analyst Craig Erlam at Oanda trading platform.
- Fed's next move -
Investors will focus next week on whether the US Federal Reserve will stick to its interest rate-hike policy to combat inflation.
Before the SVB crisis unfolded, there had been a widespread expectation the Fed would ramp up its tightening campaign and push on for as long as needed until it had quelled inflation.
But with SVB's demise largely blamed on the sharp rise in borrowing costs -- fueling fears of a repeat at other banks -- speculation has swirled that the Fed may stop hiking and maybe even cut rates to provide some stability.
However, the European Central Bank on Thursday stuck to its plan to lift rates by a half percentage point despite the turmoil.
- Key figures around 2200 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.2 percent at 31,861.98 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.1 percent at 3,916.64 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.7 percent at 11,630.51 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,335.40 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.3 percent at 14,768.20 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.4 percent at 6,925.40 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.3 percent at 4,064.99 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.2 percent at 27,333.79 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.6 percent at 19,518.59 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,250.55 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0671 from $1.0610 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2174 from $1.2109
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.59 pence from 87.62 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 131.80 yen from 133.74 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.3 percent at $72.97 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.4 percent at $66.74 per barrel
burs-jmb/tjj
S.F.Lacroix--CPN