Consumer sentiment, quarterly convergence, superhero debut: 3 things to watch

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks surged in late trading after a group of large banks organized to bolster First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC), whose stock had been pounded in recent days after the collapse of SVB Financial’s Silicon Valley Bank.

The Dow and S&P 500 were up over 1% with minutes left in the trading day, while the Nasdaq was up more than 2.5%.

The collapse of SVB rippled through the banking sector, weakening shares of regional banks such as First Republic. The bank group led by JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), said it was depositing $30 billion of uninsured funds in First Republic as a show of confidence.

The disruption from SVB and the collapse of Signature Bank the same weekend will likely weigh on the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates next week, as many futures traders now expect it will raise by a quarter of a percentage point. Just days before the collapse of SVB, the expectation had been for a raise of a half percentage point.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Consumer sentiment

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment reading for March is due out tomorrow at 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT). Analysts expect it to stay the same as the prior reading, at 67.

2. Quarterly convergence

Friday is the first of four days in the year when three derivatives contracts expire at the same time, including options, index options and index futures. The so-called triple witching day can add volatility to the stock market.

3. Superhero sequel

Warner Bros' (NASDAQ:WBD) superhero sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods is set to debut this weekend, with early box office estimates of around $35 million for opening weekend. It is going up against Walt Disney Company's (NYSE:DIS) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which has already made more than $400M worldwide since its release last month.