Stocks tumbled Thursday as banks and other financial stocks sold off, and investors braced for a key payroll report Friday that could shape the direction of interest rates.
The S&P 500 slid 1.85% to end at 3,918.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 32,254.86. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.05% to finish at 11,338.35.
Thursday's losses brought the Dow to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 9. For the week and year, the 30-stock index is down 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Both the S&P and Nasdaq are up 2.05% and 8.33% in 2023, respectively, but on track for weekly losses of 3% or more.
SVB Financial cratered 60% after announcing a $1.75 billion stock sale, pushing its market capitalization to a little over $6 billion and dragging down other regional bank names. Silvergate shares plummeted more than 42% on news that it's shutting down operations.
The losses pushed the S&P financial sector down 4.1% for its worst day since June 2020. Financial bellwethers Bank of America and Wells Fargo also took a hit, tumbling more than 6% each.
"The Fed has changed the narrative that drove stocks higher for most of January and late December," said Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments. "The market rallied on the assumption that the Fed would stop raising rates, would pause in the summer — or sometime in the near future. Powell made it very clear that's just not the case."
No data seems to suggest that the Fed should stop hiking rates, Sarhan said, adding that many investors are selling into the jobs report to reduce their risk, and are finding value in less risky assets like bonds offering an attractive yield.
"The market is looking for a bullish catalyst and it can't find one," he said.
Investors received more news on the state of the labor market ahead of Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. Jobless claims for the week ended March 4 rose more than expected, signaling that the labor market may be starting to slow. In retrospect, ADP's payrolls report and JOLTS data on Wednesday suggested a resilient economy, heightening fears that the Fed needs more hiking to slow it.
Some economists, including those at Citi, expect a positive surprise to the upside come Friday's payrolls data, following January's blowout number. Strong jobs growth could mean bad news for the market, wrote Citi research strategist Alex Saunders in a Wednesday note to clients.
"Given that good news is bad news for markets, we think this would likely cause equities to sell-off further and support the case for an outsize Fed hike," Saunders said.
Thursday's moves come a day after Powell reiterated his warning message to lawmakers that the central bank may raise interest rates higher than previously expected. While the Fed chair emphasized that no decision has been made regarding the March meeting, traders are bracing for a larger-than-expected hike following a batch of strong economic data in recent weeks.
As of Thursday afternoon, traders were pricing in a roughly 61% chance of a 50 basis point increase, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.
Stock tumbled Thursday, accelerating losses into the final hour of trading.
The S&P 500 slid 1.85% to end at 3,918.32, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dove 543.54 points, or 1.66%, to settle at 32,254.86. The Nasdaq Composite shed 2.05% to finish at 11,338.35.
— Samantha Subin
Mizuho reiterated its buy rating on Rivian Automotive shares, but lowered its price target to $35 from $37.
Analyst Vijay Rakesh said in a Wednesday note that while the company has a good portfolio and stands to benefit from its green convertible note offering, macro challenges remain a tailwind.
"We see RIVN as a pure play and strong early mover in the EV market with a focus on the higher-growth SUV and light truck market and a strong commercial vehicle roadmap beginning with Amazon," Rakesh said.
"We lower our PT to $35 (prior $37) due to macro concerns, higher interest expense and potential share dilution," he added. Mizuho's price target implies over 131% upside from Wednesday's close price. Meanwhile, shares were down 3.7% on Thursday.
— Hakyung Kim
It is not just regional and tech-focused banks that are under pressure on Thursday.
The four biggest U.S. banks — JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — are all underperforming the broader market. Shares of Wells Fargo and Bank of America have dropped more than 6%.
Combined, the declines for the four banks represent a loss of roughly $56 billion in market value for the day.
— Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes
Financial stocks within the S&P 500 are on track to post their worst day since June 2020.
The sector, which is performing the worst of the broad index's 11, is down 4.22% around 3:25 p.m. ET. The last time the sector performed worse in a day was June 26, 2020, when it dropped 4.33%.
All 11 sectors were trading down as the market entered its final 30 minutes of trading.
— Alex Harring, Christopher Hayes
As retailers reported earnings in recent weeks, they seemed to have used the same playbook, Bernstein analyst Dean Rosenblum said: "under-promise, over-deliver." With this in mind, some companies are poised for an "upside surprise going forward," he said.
Rosenblum's top picks include Target, Kroger and Costco, but home improvement retailer Floor & Decor is his favorite name. He said it's a "durable retail growth story based on its better mousetrap."
The retailer is known for its focus on hard flooring and its well-designed stores. Rosenblum's $112 price target implies 26% growth from Wednesday's close. Floor & Decor shares were down 2% in trading on Thursday.
—Christina Cheddar Berk
Stocks hit fresh lows as the final hour of trading kicked off Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average last dropped 405 points, or 1.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell about 1.46%. The S&P 500 lost 1.35%.
— Samantha Subin
Shares of SVB Financial have fallen more than 50% on Thursday, with trading halted for volatility multiple times.
The plunge comes after SVB revealed that it was raising more than $2 billion in new capital to help offset losses from bond sales and cash burn from clients, which include many venture-backed startups.
— Jesse Pound
Shares of Facebook parent Meta Platforms should rise more than Oppenheimer previously expected given the likelihood of an improved advertising landscape.
Analyst Jason Helfstein upped his price target, or the price per share he expects the stock to hit over the next 12 to 18 months, to $235, which implies the stock will rally 27% from where it closed Wednesday. He previously set a price target of $220, which reflected a rally of 18.9%
Driving the optimism is the potential for an improved advertising backdrop as investments in artificial intelligence create better targeted ad, Helfstein said. He said tools such as SKAN 4.0 and Advantage+ can both help in the space.
"We are increasing our target to $235 (was $220) on higher advertising estimates as AI investments are beginning to drive improved targeting and SKAN 4.0 reaches critical mass," he said in a Wednesday note to clients.
That led Helfstein to raise his 2023 and 2024 ad revenues for the company by 2% for both years, which in turn drove up EBITDA by 4% in each year and GAAP per-share earnings by 8% in 2023 and 7% in 2024. While Oppenheimer's 2023 revenue estimate is still slightly below the consensus estimate of Wall Street, its 2024 estimate is now slightly above the consensus.
— Alex Harring
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves midday:
General Electric — The stock gained 6.3% after the company provided an update ahead of its investor meeting, including reaffirming its 2023 guidance with high-single-digit organic revenue growth, adjusted earnings per share of $1.60-$2 and free cash flow of $3.4 billion to $4.2 billion.
BJ's Wholesale Club — Shares gained 5.1% after the wholesale retailer company reported adjusted earnings of $1 per share, beating StreetAccount's estimate of 88 cents per share. Revenue also topped expectations.
Silvergate Capital — The crypto lender's stock sank 23% after the company announced it will wind down operations and liquidate Silvergate Bank. The bank has been struggling for months, including reporting a $1 billion net loss in the fourth quarter.
Peloton Interactive — The stock shed 4% after the U.S. international trade commission banned imports of video-streaming devices made by the fitness equipment maker. A Peloton spokesperson told Reuters the ruling will not disrupt service for users. President Joe Biden has 60 days to review the ban before it takes effect.
— Michelle Fox
JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said in a note to clients on Thursday that he is sticking with his overweight rating for Eli Lilly despite recent struggles for the pharmaceutical stock.
Schott said that the stock had an attractive risk/reward profile with trial data about an Alzheimer's drug slated for the second quarter and an expanding business for diabetes treatments.
"Overall, we see the LLY story as very much on track and LLY remains one of our favorite names in the group," the note said.
Shares of Eli Lilly were up about 1.6% in afternoon trading, trimming their 2023 loss to roughly 13%.
— Jesse Pound
Ark Invest's Cathie Wood bought shares of Tesla Wednesday during the electric vehicle's sell-off.
Wood's flagship ARK Innovation ETF added 51,960 shares of Tesla, while snapping up 17,369 shares for ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF, according to Ark's daily trading data. These purchases were worth $12.6 million based on Tesla's Tuesday close of $182.
Tesla dropped 3% in the previous session after the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating two complaints of steering wheels coming off 2023 Model Y vehicles while vehicle was in motion. Berenberg also downgraded shares to hold from buy.
— Yun Li
Returning to a half-point interest rate hike would be a mistake for the Federal Reserve, according to Jeremy Siegel, pressor emeritus of finance at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
"I definitely think that that is the wrong decision," he said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" Thursday.
Siegel went on to say that the Federal Reserve's focus on certain areas of the consumer price index and wage growth was a mistake. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Alex Harring
All the major averages pared earlier gains, declining during midday trading.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 56 points, or 0.17%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.15% and 0.1%, respectively.
— Samantha Subin
DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said the two-year Treasury yield has more room to rise before it hits its peak.
The short-term bond yield briefly topped 5% earlier this week, reaching its highest level since 2007. The rate last traded around 4.98% on Thursday.
The sharp move higher followed Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said interest rates are "likely to be higher" than previously anticipated. Gundlach said it's "very likely" that the Fed will raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its next policy meeting.
— Yun Li
Many notable companies are hitting milestones on Thursday morning. Here is a look at the 52-week highs and lows for S&P 500 stocks.
New S&P 500 52-week Lows:
New S&P 500 52-week Highs:
Regional bank stocks underperformed on Thursday, led to the downside by shares of Silvergate and SVB Financial.
The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF was last down about 4.5%, and hit a multi-year low dating back to 2021.
Shares of SVB Financial tumbled nearly 39% after the financial services company announced plans to hold a stock offering totaling $1.75 billion. As of 10:45 a.m., it was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500.
Crypto-focused bank Silvergate, meanwhile, shed more than 31% after announcing plans to shut down operations.
The news weighed on shares of other regional bank. That included PacWest and First Republic Bank, which fell more than 10% each.
— Samantha Subin, Gina Francolla
Shares of General Motors were last down about 1% as the automaker said it will offer voluntary buyouts to a "majority" of its U.S. white-collar employees.
The buyouts are part of an attempt to cut structural costs over the next two years by $2 billion and comes after last week's announcement that it will cut 500 salaried positions worldwide.
— Samantha Subin, Mike Wayland
Hilton Worldwide is now a better buying opportunity for investors than Hyatt Hotels, according to Barclays.
Analyst Brandt Montour upgraded shares of Hilton to overweight from equal weight, saying the hotel chain can weather macro challenges better than its peers. The analyst said Hyatt, which he downgraded to equal weight from overweight, is more exposed to China and has little upside from here.
"After strong share price performance for H over the last 12 months, we think share valuation now limits upside and are moving to the sidelines. We shift our preference to HLT for its underappreciated net unit growth prospects amidst a slowing macro backdrop," Montour wrote in a Thursday note.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.
— Sarah Min
Bank of America analyst Brad Lin raised his price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's U.S.-listed shares to $115 from $105. The new target implies upside of 26.6% from Wednesday's close.
"Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) is a key beneficiary and among our 20 global AI stock picks owing to the rising and widening applications of large language models (LLMs) and generative AI, led by ChatGPT," Lin wrote.
"We think the generative AI should act as one of the greatest drivers, thanks to the substantial computational requirements for running and training the AI models."
— Sarah Min
Stocks opened higher on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 130 points, or 0.4%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 0.17% and 0.05%, respectively.
— Samantha Subin