Stock market today: Dow rallies as major banks race to rescue First Republic

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The Dow closed higher Thursday, as reports major Wall Street banks pledged billions to rescue First Republic Bank , bringing calm to markets following days of turmoil. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.2%, or 371 points, the S&P 500 was up 1.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.5%.

First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) jumped 10% helping push the broader financials up more than 2% as a group of major Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and others pumped billions in deposits into the beleaguered bank. First Republic creditworthiness was downgraded to junk status a day earlier.

Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo said they would inject $5 billion each in uninsured deposit into First Republic Bank. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley each made an uninsured deposit of $2.5 billion, and BNY Mellon, PNC Bank, State Street, Truist and U.S. Bank made an uninsured deposit of $1 billion, for a total deposit from the eleven banks of $30 billion.

Sentiment on bank stocks was further approved after Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) tapped the Swiss National Bank lifeline, borrowing up to $54 billion to shore-up liquidity. The Swiss banking giant came under distress a day earlier when its largest shareholder Saudi National Bank said it wouldn’t be able to provide further funding to the bank.

The relative calm in the banking sector after days of turmoil restore investor bets on the Federal Reserve pursuing further rate hikes next week.

The odds of the Fed lifting rates by 0.25% on Mar.22 jumped to 80% from under 50% a day earlier.

“For the upcoming FOMC meeting, we still see the Fed following through with a 25bp hike in response to persistent inflationary pressures and a very strong labor market,” {{Morgan Stanley}} said in a note.

Tech stocks, meanwhile, took a surge in Treasury yields in stride, with Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rising more than 4% after the tech giant said it would hike the price of YouTube TV to offset rising content costs.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) rallied more than 5% after lifting its annual guidance on performance following better-than-expected first-quarter results.  

The results from Adobe “reflect resilience and strong execution against a tenuous backdrop,” Duetsche Bank said, adding that “Figma an overhang on the shares.” Adobe, however, said it expected to complete the $20B Figma takeover deal, which is facing regulatory hurdles by year-end.

In earnings news, Uipath Inc (NYSE:PATH) reported fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines, and the automation software company lifted its 2024 guidance.

“Overall, we like the momentum of its core business along with broader conversations around the potential of generative AI and ChatGPT integration,” RBC said after lifting its price target on the stock to $17 from $15.