Stocks close lower for a fourth day on renewed bank worries, Dow goes negative for 2023: Live updates

Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler warned investors that the enforcement agency was paying extra close attention to any potential misconduct.

"As I've said, in times of increased volatility and uncertainty, the SEC is particularly focused on identifying and prosecuting any form of misconduct that might threaten investors, capital formation, or the markets more broadly," Gensler said in a statement.

He released a similar statement on March 12, following the rapid collapse of SVB and Signature Bank.

— Christina Wilkie

U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 286.5 points, or 0.86%. The index turned negative year-to-date for the first time in 2023, down 0.06%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lost 0.72% and 0.49%, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim

As the market enters the seasonally weakest part of the year, 4,200 remains the key resistance level to watch on the S&P 500, according to David Keller, Chief Market Strategist at StockCharts.com. He sees the stock index dipping about 5% from current levels, however.

"We expect the S&P 500 to retrace back to previous swing lows around 3,800 as we continue through a pivotal earnings season," he told CNBC.

"Outside of mega cap technology and communication services, we're seeing the strongest trends in more defensive sectors like health care and consumer staples," he added. "As long as defensive sectors are thriving, this suggests limited upside for the major market averages."

— Tanaya Macheel

Truist raised its rating on the consumer staples sector to overweight from neutral, saying that it is one of the top sectors in terms of relative price and earnings basis.

"Several of the companies continue to have good pricing power. The sector should also do well on a comparative basis if the economy slows, as we anticipate, given many of their products are necessities as opposed to discretionary," the firm wrote in a Thursday note.

Meanwhile, the firm is underweight on the financials, real estate and health care sector.

— Hakyung Kim

Jefferies is keeping a close eye on the Federal Reserve's next Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey scheduled to be released May 8.

"The ongoing risk at regional banks, with the US regional banks index down 38% year to date, means that the next Fed loan officer survey will be critical to monitor. ... It is likely to give the doves on the FOMC the rationale they are looking for for a pause," analyst Christopher Wood wrote in a Thursday note.

Wood noted that the central bank hinted at a pause in its rate hiking path in its post-meeting statement on Wednesday. "The Fed funds futures are now discounting a pause in June, followed by 75bp of rate cuts by the end of this year," Wood added.

— Hakyung Kim

DA Davidson analyst Gil Luria initiated coverage of this "Buffett-esque" stock with a buy rating, saying the software provider for corporate sales and marketing teams is a "rare" value pick in the sector. 

"[This stock has] a competitive moat, a track record of execution and substantial long-term opportunity," Luria wrote in a Wednesday note. 

— Sarah Min

Apple is handedly beating the broader market, with the tech stock's relative outperformance against the S&P 500 reaching an all-time high.

The iPhone maker is slated to report earnings after the bell Thursday. Apple shares dipped 0.8% on the day.

— Fred Imbert, Gabriel Cortés

AMD shares reached a session high on Thursday after Bloomberg reported that the chipmaker was working with Microsoft on a new artificial-intelligence processor.

Microsoft is helping AMD to fund the initiative, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources.

AMD declined to comment. A Microsoft representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AMD shares were last higher by 9.4%.

— Jordan Novet

In the case that markets avoid a recession, Goldman Sachs says interests rates will likely then rise, putting downward pressure on valuations. In this case, the bank tells investors to position themselves to position themselves in markets outside of the U.S.

"We continue to recommend an overweight in non-US markets which are cheap with a similar growth profile. Returns for dollar-based investors should also get a boost from a gradually lower dollar," several analysts wrote in a Thursday note.

The company added that it favors quality growth and stable margin businesses "together with some deep value – Energy, Natural Resources and European Banks." Our strategists in the US and Asia have a preference for quality and defensive equities as well.

— Hakyung Kim

In the case that markets avoid a recession, Goldman Sachs says interests rates will likely then rise, putting downward pressure on valuations. In this case, the bank tells investors to position themselves to position themselves in markets outside of the U.S.

"We continue to recommend an overweight in non-US markets which are cheap with a similar growth profile. Returns for dollar-based investors should also get a boost from a gradually lower dollar," several analysts wrote in a Thursday note.

The company added that it favors quality growth and stable margin businesses "together with some deep value – Energy, Natural Resources and European Banks." Our strategists in the US and Asia have a preference for quality and defensive equities as well.

— Hakyung Kim

A Gallup survey uncovered that consumers are growing increasingly fearful about the safety of their bank deposits. In a survey conducted from April 3-25, nearly half of those polled said they were "very worried" (19%) or "moderately worried" (29%) about their deposits, Gallup said.

The pollster said this latest reading is similiar to the findings it saw shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers on Sept. 15, 2008.

As a reminder, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. backs deposits of up to $250,000 per depositor at an insured bank. For those with accounts above the insured limit, there are steps one can take to protect their assets.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

Kenvue traded $25.53 per share during its market debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday, jumping 16% from its $22 IPO.

Kenvue's debut marks the largest U.S. IPO since 2021, when electric vehicle maker Rivian went public. The IPO is also the largest restructuring move in Johnson & Johnson's history. Johnson & Johnson will have a 90.9% stake in Kenvue after the IPO completes, and proceed reduce the rest of its stake later in 2023.

— Hakyung Kim

These are the stocks making the biggest moves midday:

• Paramount Global — The media stock cratered more than 27% after the company slashed its dividend and reported earnings that fell short of analyst expectations. Paramount Global cut is dividend to 5 cents from 24 cents a share, marking its first reduction since 2009.
• PacWest, First Horizon, Western Alliance — Regional bank stocks were under heavy pressure again on Thursday. Shares of PacWest dropped more than 50% after reports that the company was exploring a potential sale. The company said it is evaluating all options to maximize shareholder value. Shares of First Horizon dropped more than 30% after its merger with TD Bank was called off, with the banks citing lack of clarity on a timeline from regulators. Western Alliance also suffered deep losses, falling more than 40%.
• Shopify — The e-commerce platform jumped more than 27% after beating expectations for the previous quarter and announcing a sale of parts of its fulfillment operation and logistics division.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

First Horizon CEO Bryan Jordan said on "Squawk on the Street" that he takes it at "face value" that the failed merger with TD Bank was due to regulatory uncertainty and not a move by TD to backtrack on the deal given the decline in regional bank stocks. Jordan said he did not have insight into what the regulatory issues might have been.

"Any questions about the approval process, unfortunately, TD will have to answer," Jordan said.

The CEO of the Tennessee-based bank said that he believes the banking system is strong. Regulators should look at changes to the deposit insurance system, such as for large business accounts, to help stabilize the industry, Jordan said, but he added that short-term moves like banning short-selling might not be the best path.

"I don't think any spur of the moment decisions are usually good. I think it's probably time to take a breath and think through these things," Jordan said.

Shares of First Horizon are down 36% on the day.

— Jesse Pound

Mark Hamilton, chief investment officer at Hirtle Callaghan, says that the resurgence of instability in the banking sector are looking to continue for the foreseeable future.

"I think you are going to continue to see ripple effects. This is the nature of now had 475 basis points of tightening — those effects are going to ripple through the economy over time.," Hamilton said. "And that is definitely one of the contributors to what's going on with with the regional banks." Hamilton added that the flare ups in bank stocks are likely to continue on an "episodic" basis over the next few quarters.

To be sure, he added that he hesitates "to even call this a crisis."

"This is not like 2008, where you had such a systemic series of risks where many, many banks had issues with capital adequacy, etc. This seems to be to be much more focused in certain types of banks with certain types of customer bases that are the most vulnerable."

— Hakyung Kim

Shares of Qualcomm</