American stock indices finished trading in the positive

In dynamic trade on Wall Street, stock indexes rose, as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s assurances that measures will be taken to preserve the safety of bank deposits reassured investors.

• Dow Jones index rose on Thursday by 0.23 percent, 32,105 points
• S&P 500 by 0.3 percent, 3,948 points
• Nasdaq index by 1.01 percent, to 11,787 points

All three US stock indexes changed direction in the last hour of trading and ended the day in positive territory after Janet Yellen’s statements in Congress.

The minister stated in parliament that regulators are ready to take further actions to stabilize American banks. This somewhat calmed investors’ fears fueled by the collapse of two regional banks in the USA.

However, interest rate hikes by central banks in the Western world to curb rampant inflation have weighed on the banking sector, best seen with the collapse of Silicon Valley and Signature Bank. Investors, therefore, remain concerned about the situation in US regional banks.

S&P 500 in decline

The S&P 500 banking sector index fell 1.2 percent on Thursday, to the lowest level since November 2020. Compared to the record level in February last year, its losses are higher than 40 percent.

Of the 11 most important sectors of the S&P 500, only communications and technology finished trading positively.

On the European stock markets on Thursday, most of the most important indices fell after the British central bank raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points.

• London’s FTSE index lost 0.89 percent to 7,499 points
• Frankfurt’s DAX lost 0.04 percent to 15,210 points
• The Paris CAC increased by 0.11 percent to 7,139 points