The sharks are circling regional US banks, states Ian Murphy of MurphyTrading.com.
Trading in shares of PacWest Bancorp (PACW) and Western Alliance (WAL) was paused during yesterday’s session when volatility halts were triggered. Comerica Incorporated (CMA), Zions Bancorporation NA (ZION), and Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (MCB) are also in the crosshairs, as is the broker, Charles Schwab (SCHW).
Meanwhile, a standoff in Washington over raising the debt limit and warnings from one of the creators of AI that it is coming to get us in the not-too-distant future did little to calm markets.
This week brought another interest rate announcement from not one, but two central banks. The Fed is up with a hike of 0.25%, while the ECB follows today with the same. Market participants are expecting the Fed to pause after this hike, but the ECB may go higher.
Bank shares pulled the main US equity indices down with them, but the S&P 500 (SPX), NASDAQ, and Dow are still in the neutral zone and have some ways to go to close below the -1ATR line which is bear pit territory (arrows). The Russell 2000 of mid-caps is trading below the line already.
Learn more about Ian Murphy at MurphyTrading.com.
