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BlackRock filed for a prospective spot bitcoin ETF on June 15, undeterred by the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) past record of rejecting every such application. Bitcoin's market value has grown to comprise nearly half of the $1.1 trillion overall crypto market, its highest share in over two years, according to data tracker CoinMarketCap.com. Since the BlackRock filing, Invesco and WisdomTree have also reapplied for spot bitcoin ETFs after they had previous applications rejected by the regulator. Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar, said a spot bitcoin ETF could be a more cost-effective way for investors to trade. "It doesn't appear that most crypto ETF holders are institutional – assets are pretty spread out," he added.

Persons: Satoshi, Exchange Commission's, Satoshi Nakamoto's, Mikkel Morch, hasn't, Andrew Bond, Rick Meckler, Bryan Armour, I'd, David Wells, Medha Singh, Lisa Pauline Mattackal, Pravin Organizations: BlackRock, Securities, Exchange, SEC, Rosenblatt Securities, U.S, Cherry Lane Investments, Reuters Graphics Reuters, North America, Morningstar, MorningStar, TrackInsight, Morgan Asset Management, State, Enclave Markets, Pravin Char, Thomson, Reuters Locations: United States, U.S, New Vernon , New Jersey, J.P, BlackRock, Bengaluru

☆ Stocks fall as Powell says inflation fight not over
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

While noting that inflation remains very far from the Fed's target, Powell said it may make sense to move rates higher, at a more moderate pace. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.50% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.37%. The Fed is "walking a tight rope between trying to tell people they are going to fight inflation as their No. The U.S. dollar index briefly rose following the release of Powell's testimony, but was last down slightly. The dollar index fell 0.458%, with the euro up 0.67% to $1.0989.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Powell, Jerome Powell, Raphael Bostic, Rick Meckler, Brent, Caroline Valetkevitch, Medha Singh, Lawrence White, Wayne Cole, Jacqueline Wong, Lincoln, Alex Richardson, David Goodman, Richard Chang, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S, Treasury, Capitol, Atlanta Federal Reserve, Yahoo Finance, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Cherry Lane Investments, U.S . West Texas, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, New Vernon , New Jersey

☆ Stocks fall, yields up; Powell says inflation fight not over
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Caroline Valetkevitch | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidSummary U.S. stocks mostly lowerTreasury yields risePowell updates on U.S. rate outlook in testimonyNEW YORK, June 21 (Reuters) - Global stock indexes mostly fell and Treasury yields rose on Wednesday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the fight to lower inflation still has a "long way" to go. The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) lost 0.47% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe (.MIWD00000PUS) shed 0.35%. The U.S. dollar index initially rose following the release of Powell's testimony, but was last down slightly. Treasury yields rose on Powell's hawkish tone.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Powell, Jerome Powell, Rick Meckler, Brent, Medha Singh, Lawrence White, Wayne Cole, Jacqueline Wong, Lincoln, Alex Richardson, David Goodman, Richard Chang Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Treasury, Financial Services, Cherry Lane Investments, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, U.S, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, New Vernon , New Jersey

The benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) built on Thursday's 20% rise from its Oct. 12 finishing low, heralding the start of a new bull market as defined by some market participants. The S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 4.93 points, or 0.11%, at 4,298.86, taking this week's advance to 0.38% and extending its winning streak to four weeks, the longest since the July-August 2022 period. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 43.17 points, or 0.13%, to 33,876.78, for a weekly gain of 0.33%. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.49-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.84-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and five new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 84 new highs and 53 new lows.

Persons: Dow Jones, Tim Holland, Brendan McDermid, Rick Meckler, Wells, Sruthi Shankar, Shristi, Vinay Dwivedi, Richard Chang Organizations: Adobe, Citi, Nasdaq, Tesla Inc, General Motors Co, GM, Orion, Dow Jones, Apple Inc, Devices, Nvidia Corp, NYSE, American Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Brendan McDermid Traders, Cherry Lane Investments, Target Corp, Adobe Inc, Netflix Inc, Thomson Locations: Wells Fargo, New York City, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ U.S. banks sink on concerns about office real estate loans
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Sinéad Carew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Investors worried about potential losses among banks from office real estate loans after comments from executives, including Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N) Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf and Blackstone President Jonathan Gray at a Sanford C Bernstein investor conference. Meanwhile, Blackstone's Gray talked about "unprecedented weakness" in older office buildings while noting that this segment currently makes up less than 2% of company's equity portfolio in real estate. Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey said "continued concern over loans made to the office market," was hurting bank stocks broadly on Wednesday, citing the Wells Fargo comments. "The implication is that there are those that will suffer even if Wells Fargo is diversified enough," Meckler said. KeyCorp, down 5.5%, was the biggest decliner in the S&P bank index, and Zions was next, down 4.9%.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Wells, Charlie Scharf, Blackstone, Jonathan Gray, Sanford C, Wells Fargo's Scharf, Blackstone's Gray, Gray, Bernstein, Rick Meckler, Meckler, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Zions, Sinéad Carew, Mehnaz Yasmin, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Citibank, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Banks, Investors, Buyers, Cherry Lane Investments, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase &, Bank of America, Citizens Financial, Western Alliance Bancorp, PacWest Bancorp, Comerica, PNC Financial Services, Fifth Third Bancorp, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Thomson Locations: Manhattan , New York City, U.S, New Vernon , New Jersey, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Wall St rallies on debt ceiling optimism, regional bank rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday reiterated their determination to strike a deal soon to raise the debt ceiling and avoid an economically catastrophic default. A jump in regional bank shares lifted sentiment, led by a 10.19% surge in Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N) a day after the bank said deposits grew by more than $2 billion in the quarter ended May 12. The KBW regional bank (.KRX) shot up 7.28% to notch its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 6, 2021 to close at its highest level since May 1. The S&P 500 banks index also surged 4.46% for its biggest daily percentage gain since Nov. 10. "It is optimism over the debt ceiling.

☆ Wall St rallies on debt ceiling hopes, regional bank rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Chuck Mikolajczak | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday reiterated their determination to strike a deal soon to raise the federal debt ceiling and avoid an economically catastrophic default. A jump in regional bank shares lifted sentiment, led by a 12.12% surge in Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N) a day after the bank said deposits grew by more than $2 billion in the quarter ended May 12. The KBW regional bank (.KRX) index was up 6.86% and on track for its biggest one-day percentage gain since Jan. 6, 2021 after touching its highest intraday level since May 3. "It is optimism over the debt ceiling it. That slowing along with recent negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling has focused attention on when the central bank will pause hiking, or cut interest rates.

☆ Instant View: Solid April US jobs report undermines case for Fed cut soon
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

ANTHONY SAGLIMBENE, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, AMERIPRISE FINANCIAL, TROY, MICHIGAN“It's definitely telling you that the job market is still hot. PETER CARDILLO, CHIEF MARKET ECONOMIST, SPARTAN CAPITAL SECURITIES, NEW YORK“It was a hotter than expected report, it certainly didn’t show any cooling in the labor market. Hourly earnings were a little higher than I was looking for.”“Bottom line, this is a strong report and shows that the labor market is resilient. So I think the real focus is on the inflation numbers, and what's happening with wage growth. We are hopeful the continued strength of the jobs market and signs of slowing inflation will ease market volatility in the coming months.

JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM.N) shares rose 3.1% to a near two-month high after the deal was announced earlier in the day. The S&P 500 Banks index (.SPXBK) gained 1.1%, while the KBW Regional Banking index (.KRX) shed 1.5%. Shares of regional banks PNC Financial (PNC.N) and Citizens Financial (CFG.N), that were among the bidders for First Republic, dropped 4.7% and 5.2%, respectively. "But regional banks will face higher cost of doing business for some time until confidence is rebuilt or there is a different regulatory scheme." Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to fall 1.9% from a year earlier, compared with a 5.1% fall expected at the start of April, according to Refinitiv data.

The S&P 500 Banks index (.SPXBK) gained 1.4%. Big banks such as Bank of America (BAC.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) rose 0.3% and 2.8%, respectively. First Republic's woes kicked off last week on a bleak note, but upbeat earnings from Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) helped the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) notch its second consecutive month of gain on Friday. Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to fall 1.9% from a year earlier, compared with a 5.1% fall expected at the start of April, according to Refinitiv data. The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and no new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 48 new highs and 47 new lows.

Major equity indexes have been largely stable during the early stages of a first-quarter earnings season that investors expect to show tepid results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 79.62 points, or 0.23%, to 33,897.01; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.35 points, or 0.01%, at 4,154.52; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) added 3.81 points, or 0.03%, at 12,157.23. The defensive utilities group (.SPLRCU) gained most among S&P 500 sectors, rising 0.8%. S&P 500 companies overall are expected to post a 4.8% decline in first-quarter earnings from the year-earlier period, according to Refinitiv IBES. The S&P 500 posted 16 new 52-week highs and one new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 59 new highs and 123 new lows.

"One has to step back and look at a bigger picture than just these week-to-week market battles over data. Several economic indicators last week, including weak private payrolls and job openings data, had initially raised hopes of a pause to the market-punishing rate hikes amid the recent banking sector turmoil. Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.48-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and 1.74-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 57 new lows. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"One has to step back and look at a bigger picture than just these week-to-week market battles over data. ET, Dow e-minis were down 122 points, or 0.36%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 21.5 points, or 0.52%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 107.75 points, or 0.82%. Shares of regional banks slipped after Fed data on Friday showed overall credit from U.S. banks declined by a record of more than $120 billion in the latest week, on a nonseasonally adjusted basis. Semiconductor stocks such as Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) and Western Digital Corp (WDC.O) gained 5.5% and 4.7%, respectively, following Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's (005930.KS) plans to cut chip production. Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Medha Singh; Editing by Varun H K and Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Investors seek value in clobbered U.S. regional bank shares
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( David Randall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The ETF has slumped nearly 26% since March 8, when SVB's troubles became known, while the S&P Regional Banks Select Industry Index (.SPSIRBK) is down around 23%. Concerns over deposit flight are still swirling around some regional banks. He owns shares of large regional banks including Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG.N), which have fallen about 22% so far this year, and US Bancorp (USB.N), which are down some 18%. Margie Patel, a senior portfolio manager at Allspring Global Investments, has been adding new positions in regional banks over the last few weeks, citing "value." Regional banks "need positive news that shows their deposits are holding firm or growing," said Rick Meckler, a partner at family office Cherry Lane Investments.

☆ Instant View: U.S. February CPI increase leaves market guessing on Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Core CPI without food and energy prices increased 0.5% after rising 0.4% in January. Year over year core CPI gained 5.5% vs 5.6% in January. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast monthly CPI and core CPI up 0.4%. So they're going to have to respond to the banking crisis that's probably just not over yet." If the Fed’s worried about saving face or coming off as wishy washy or worried about losing credibility with the market, they're going to raise by 25 basis points.

☆ Wall St relieved after inflation data but warns Fed’s fight not over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

February’s inflation report showed consumer prices rising by 0.4%, with a year-on-year increase of 6% - in line with analysts expectations, but far above the 2% rate the Fed hopes to achieve. The CPI report "was pretty much as expected. We're at a point of market anxiety where expected is good," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments. The CPI report was not all good news. The CPI report “wasn’t worse than expected,” he said.

SVB's meltdown sparked a partisan battle in Washington on Monday, with Democrats arguing that a Trump-era change to bank oversight rules undermined the stability of regional banks. In the money markets, indicators of credit risk in the U.S. and euro zone banking systems edged up. [1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023. On Monday morning, U.S. bank regulators sought to reassure nervous customers who lined up outside SVB's Santa Clara, California, headquarters, offering coffee and donuts. A furious race to reprice interest rate expectations also sent waves through markets as investors bet the Fed will be reluctant to hike next week.

Biden said his administration's actions over the weekend meant "Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe", while also promising stiffer regulation after the biggest U.S. bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. Shares in U.S. banking giants JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) nevertheless weakened. But your second thought is, how big was that crisis, how big were the risks that this step had to be taken?" U.S. regulators stepped in on Sunday after the collapse of SVB, which had seen a run after a big bond portfolio hit. [1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the banking crisis after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. March 13, 2023.

Germany's Commerzbank (CBKG.DE) fell as much as 12.7%, while Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) hit a new record low after falling 15%. Biden said his administration's rapid actions at the weekend should reassure Americans that the U.S. banking system is safe, and promised stiffer bank regulation after the country's biggest bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis. "Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe. But big U.S. banks including JP Morgan Chase (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) also weakened. In the money markets, a closely watched indicator of credit risk in the U.S. banking system edged up, as did other indicators of credit risk in the euro zone.

But your second thought is, how big was that crisis, how big were the risks that this step had to be taken?" Trading in shares of SVB's peer Signature Bank (SBNY.O), which was shut down by regulators on Sunday, was halted. Shares of big U.S. banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) fell between 2.8% and 6.3%. The KBW regional banking index fell 11.2%, while the S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) dropped 7.7%. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 44 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 19 new highs and 321 new lows.

☆ Investors step into U.S. bank stocks, but with some caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Sinéad Carew | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The S&P 500 bank subsector (.SPXBK) is up 4.9% so far in 2023 slightly ahead of the benchmark S&P 500's (.SPX) 3.3% gain. But some investors are circumspect as banks themselves warned during earnings season in January that they expect higher loan losses and weaker demand for borrowing. The rate increases have boosted banks' income, giving them the go-ahead to charge higher interest rates for loans. But now, bank customers with savings accounts are seeking out higher interest rates on deposits, offsetting some lending gains. Barclay's analyst Jason Goldberg sees economic strength as a bigger factor for bank stocks this year than the Fed hikes path.

/USThe dollar index fell 0.21% from one-month highs, while the Japanese yen gained 1.21% to 131.08 per dollar after unusually strong Japanese wage data. The Australian dollar bolted 1.02% higher after its central bank reiterated further increases would be needed. Asian stocks stabilized overnight after they, like most global share markets, suffered steep losses following that U.S jobs data. Oil prices climbed more than 3% after Powell eased market concerns over rate hikes, while recovering demand in China also boosted prices. Gold eked out gains, tracking a slight pullback in the dollar, as investors mulled comments by Powell and the outlook for the Fed's rate-hike policy.

"We didn't expect it to be this strong," Powell said, but it "shows why we think this will be a process that takes quite a bit of time." It has just confounded all sorts of attempts to predict," Powell said, noting that wage growth has slowed even with continued strong job gains. Officials raised the target interest rate a quarter point to a range between 4.5% and 4.75% at that session, and said in the latest policy statement that "ongoing increases" would be needed. 1 2 3 4 5As of December, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation was increasing at a 5% annual rate, still more than double the Fed's target. While Powell said he expected "significant declines in inflation" this year, the U.S. economy was still "in the beginning of getting that down."

☆ Wall St Week Ahead Tech stock rebound faces doubters with earnings season ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Lewis Krauskopf | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index (.NDX) has gained over 3% in 2023, double the rise for the S&P 500 (.SPX). The Nasdaq 100 fell 33% in 2022, while the S&P 500 lost 19.4%. Apple, the largest U.S. company by market value, and Google-parent Alphabet report the following week. Fourth-quarter earnings in the tech sector are expected to have declined 9.1% from a year ago, compared to a 2.8% decline for S&P 500 earnings overall, according to Refinitiv IBES. The S&P 500 tech sector still trades at a roughly 19% premium to the broader index, above its 7% average of the past 10 years, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) fell nearly 10% as the electric-vehicle maker missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly deliveries. Other rate-sensitive technology and growth stocks such as Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O), Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) were up between 0.6% and 2.0%. The S&P 500 shed 19.4% in 2022, marking a roughly $8 trillion decline in market cap, while the Nasdaq fell 33.1%, dragged down by growth stocks. The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and one new low, while the Nasdaq recorded 73 new highs and 23 new lows. Reporting by Shubham Batra, Ankika Biswas and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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