Dow, S&P 500 up as SVB deal lifts bank shares By Reuters

Written by Caroline Valtkevich

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Dow closed higher on Monday as a Silicon Valley bank asset deal helped investors gain confidence in banks, while a decline in technology stocks weighed on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 Banking Index rose sharply, while the KBW Regional Banking Index was also higher.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:) and Bank of America (NYSE:) were among the stocks that gave the S&P 500 the biggest boost Monday.

Shares of First Citizens BancShares Inc jumped on Monday after it said it would take over the deposits and loans of a Silicon Valley bank, which failed earlier this month in the bank’s biggest collapse since the 2008 financial crisis.

Also, share First Republic Bank (NYSE:) rose after Bloomberg reported that US authorities are considering more support for banks, which could give struggling First Republic more time to shore up its balance sheet.

Technology-related growth stocks were lower, weighing on the Nasdaq.

Growth stocks “had very strong equity growth in the quarter, so there may be some profit-taking as we get into the end of the quarter,” said Tim Gresky, chief portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.

Unofficially, the index rose 195.08 points, or 0.61%, to 32,432.61, and the S&P 500 increased 6.76 points, or 0.17%, to 3,977.75, and fell 55.12 points, or 0.47%, to 11,768.84.

Apple (NASDAQ) shares fell. The S&P 500 technology index has risen sharply for the quarter so far.

Crypto shares also fell on Monday after the CFTC said cryptocurrency exchange Binance and its CEO and founder Changpeng Zhao had been sued by the CFTC for operating an “illegal” exchange and “sham” compliance program.

Among the other stock gainers, Walt Disney (NYSE:) rose after the company began laying off 7,000 workers announced earlier this year.