How U.S. stock-index futures are trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 485 points or 1%
S&P 500 futures are down 81 points or 1.2%
Nasdaq-100 futures are down 333 points or 1.3%
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 301 points or 0.65% to 45952, the S&P 500 Index dropped 41 points or 0.6% to 6629 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 107 points or 0.4% to 22562.
On Thursday, Zions Bancorp disclosed a $50 million loss across two loans, which followed a revelation by Fifth Third Bancorp of up to $200 million in loan losses, millions in losses from Jefferies linked to investments in First Brands.
“While there are hopes that this could be an isolated incident, the episode brought back unwelcome memories of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse in 2023 and, with several regional banks yet to report, investors are on high alert,” Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor in a note to clients.
That’s as investors are “grappling with stretched stock valuations in the AI space, an unresolved government shutdown and a deteriorating relationship between Beijing and Washington,” he said.
Investors will be closely watching earnings expected from Fifth Third Bancorp, Truist Financial and Regions Financial ahead of Friday’s market open. Several other companies will report, including American Express and State Street.
With stocks poised for losses, and negativity spreading to Asia and Europe markets, investors were seeking safety in gold, which was up at one point up over 1% at $4,354 an ounce. The Swiss franc and Japanese yen were also drawing haven bids. Treasury yields were dropping and bitcoin fell nearly 5% at $105,136.
The data calendar is empty for Friday with no Fed speakers either.