GLOBAL MARKETS DJIA 32246.55 371.98 1.17% Nasdaq 11717.28 283.22 2.48% S&P 500 3960.28 68.35 1.76% FTSE 100 7410.03 65.58 0.89% Nikkei Stock 27221.20 210.59 0.78% Hang Seng 19433.07 229.16 1.19% Kospi 2393.28 15.37 0.65% SGX Nifty* 17146.00 123.5 0.73% *March contract USD/JPY 133.20-21 -0.40% Range 133.77 133.16 EUR/USD 1.0632-35 +0.21% Range 1.0642 1.0609 CBOT Wheat May $6.990 per bushel Spot Gold $1,919.30/oz -0.1% Nymex Crude (NY) $68.17 $0.56 U.S. STOCKS
Stocks climbed Thursday, reversing their morning declines, after 11 of the nation's biggest banks deposited $30 billion to prop up First Republic Bank in a bid to stem the recent panic in the banking system.
Major stock indexes opened lower but changed course after The Wall Street Journal said JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and other banks were in talks to deposit billions of dollars of their own money into First Republic.
The government confirmed the deal to rescue the San Francisco lender-one of the banks swept up in the contagion that followed last week's collapse of Silicon Valley Bank-moments before the stock market closed.
The S&P 500 added 68.35 points, or 1.8%, to 3960.28, erasing an earlier decline of 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 371.98 points, or 1.2%, to 32246.55, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 283.22 points, or 2.5%, to 11717.28.
ASIAN STOCKS
Japanese stocks were higher in morning trade, led by gains in bank and electronics stocks, as concerns eased about the stability of the U.S. banking sector and the yen weakened. USD/JPY was at 133.47, up from 132.74 as of Thursday's Tokyo stock-market close. Investors remained focused on any fallout following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank as policy tightening by central banks continues. The Nikkei Stock Average was up 0.6% at 27162.30.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi was 0.6% higher at 2391.61 in early trade, led by gains in semiconductor stocks. Japan's agreement to ease controls on its chip-material exports to South Korea during their leaders' summit in Tokyo the previous day was sending semiconductor stocks higher. Wall Street's rebound overnight after major U.S. lenders offered to rescue ailing First Republic Bank was also supporting investor sentiment. Index heavyweight Samsung Electronics was up 1.5% after increasing its stake in a local robot developer, Rainbow Robotics.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.7% to 19333.92, as U.S. and European banking jitters eased. A group of U.S. financial firms have agreed to deposit $30 billion to aid First Republic Bank, while Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to CHF50 billion from Switzerland's central bank, said CMC Markets. The best performer on the HSI was AI and internet company Baidu, which climbed 8.0%. The Hang Seng Tech Index was up 1.9% at 2883.71.
Chinese shares were higher in early trade, in tandem with other Asian equities as concerns about the U.S. banking sector ease. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.7% to 3248.08 while the Shenzhen Composite Index and the ChiNext Price Index were each 0.9% higher. Property-related stocks were likely in focus, after data showed new home prices in 70 Chinese cities on average rose in February on a month-on-month basis, Commerzbank analysts said. "The latest numbers suggest that policy measures rolled out to support housing demand are gradually taking effect," they added.
FOREX
Asian currencies were mixed against USD in the morning session, but may strengthen amid a mild risk-on mood. A U.S. banking-industry-wide rescue to shore up ailing First Republic Bank has given some much-needed reassurances to market participants, said IG. This news has helped to calm market nerves in an extremely bearish risk environment, it added. USD/KRW rose 0.3% to 1,304.28 and USD/TWD was up 0.1% at 30.59 while USD/SGD fells 0.2% to 1.3448 and AUD/USD gained 0.5% to 0.6691.
METALS
Gold ticked down in the early morning Asian session as market nerves over the banking sector turmoil sparked by the failure of some U.S. banks eased, slightly cooling haven demand. A group of 11 U.S. lenders deposited $30 billion to rescue the ailing First Republic Bank, while Europe jitters eased after Credit Suisse said it would borrow up to $53.7 billion from Switzerland's central bank to shore up liquidity. Traders swiftly realized that gold's trajectory toward $1,950/oz wasn't occurring and locked in profits, Oanda said. The precious metal's rally over the past week has been somewhat impressive but might be running out of steam, it added. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,919.30/oz.
OIL SUMMARY
Oil prices were slightly higher in the morning Asian session, amid positive market sentiment, spurred by news that eleven U.S. banks have deposited $30 billion to support ailing First Republic Bank. However, an increase in U.S. crude-oil inventories adds fuel to recent sell off in oil, said DailyFX.com, noting EIA data showing weekly crude-oil stockpiles rose more than expected. Front-month WTI crude oil futures were 0.2% higher at $68.51/bbl; front-month Brent crude oil futures rose 0.2% to $74.88/bbl.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
03-16-23 2315ET
