S&P 500 Off Lows as Banks Climb, Yield U-Turn Helps Tech Cut Losses By Investing.com

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 eased from session lows Monday as traders snapped up bank stocks following a dip a day earlier, while battered tech stocks pared some losses after rates retreated from 14-month highs.

The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower, but had been down nearly 1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.32%, or 106 points, the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.26%, but had been down more than 1%.

With one eye on the earnings season which kicks off early April, and optimism that rising rate environment will boost bank stocks, investors took advantage of Monday’s slump in major Wall Street banks.

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) was one of the biggest gainers after announcing that it “did not experience losses related to closing out our exposure” related to the $20 billion liquidation of Archegos Capital Management.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) were up around 1.5%.

Other Archegos-linked stocks also rebounded, with Discovery (NASDAQ:DISCA) and ViacomCBS (NASDAQ:VIAC) up sharply.

Tech stocks pared some losses as ({23705|U.S. rates}} turned negative after hitting 14-month highs, but they are expected to continue their climb amid expectations for steady economic growth ahead.

Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was exception to the selling in the so-called fab 5 stocks, while Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) were lower.

As well as the impact of rising rates, Amazon was in the spotlight as investors await the results of a historic vote in Alabama that could establish the first union for Amazon workers.  

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), meanwhile, was up more than 1% helping the broader Nasdaq off its lows, as investors digested bitter-sweet news.

Tesla warned it it facing problems scaling up production of its semi-truck, blaming battery tech supply issues. The electric automaker, however, is believed to be mulling a deal with Toyota to develop a small SUV platform, according to media reports.

Energy stocks also kept the broader market in red, extending its weak start to the week ahead, as the risk premium in oil prices from supply disruptions linked to the Suez Canal saga faded after the container ship — that had blocked the key maritime trading route—was freed.

On the economic front, the U.S. consumer remains in good health as consumer confidence rose more than expected to its highest level since highest reading since July 2019.