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Stocks Rise as Bank Fears Ease         03/29 11:01

   Stocks are rising Wednesday as Wall Street shakes off a bit more of the fear 
that dominated it earlier this month.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are rising Wednesday as Wall Street shakes off a bit 
more of the fear that dominated it earlier this month.

   The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average was up 164 points, or 0.5%, at 32,558, as of 10:55 a.m. Eastern time, 
while the Nasdaq composite was 1% higher.

   They followed similar sized gains in other markets around the world, and the 
S&P 500 is on track to close what's been a tumultuous month with a modest gain. 
That's despite the month being dominated by worries about banks and whether the 
industry is cracking under the pressure of much higher interest rates.

   By Wednesday, a measure of fear among stock investors on Wall Street was 
back down near its lowest point since March 8, the day before Silicon Valley 
Bank's customers suddenly yanked out $42 billion in a panicked dash. It became 
the second-largest U.S. bank failure in history and sparked harsher scrutiny of 
banks around the world.

   Big actions by regulators recently have calmed some of the worries around 
banks, including a government-brokered takeover by one Swiss banking giant of 
another. In that deal, UBS said Wednesday it's bringing back former CEO Sergio 
Ermotti to help it absorb its troubled rival, Credit Suisse. Ermotti led the 
bank through its turnaround following the 2008 financial crisis.

   UBS stock in Switzerland rose 3.5%. Other big banks across the continent 
also strengthened, which helped indexes there to rise 1% or more.

   On Wall Street, the vast majority of financial stocks in the S&P 500 were 
rising. In the U.S., most of the scrutiny has been on smaller and midsized 
banks instead of the titans. That's because smaller banks are seen as more at 
risk of suffering a sudden exodus of customers, similar to the run that toppled 
Silicon Valley Bank.

   Some of the banks recently seen as most at risk were moving sharply. First 
Republic Bank rose 4%. PacWest Bancorp. was down 0.8% after losing an earlier 
gain.

   The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. announced the sale of much of Silicon 
Valley Bank's assets at the start of this week. Regulators earlier this month 
also announced programs to help banks raise cash more easily.

   That, plus the implicit promise U.S. officials have seemed to make about 
protecting depositors at other banks, should help support the industry, 
analysts say.

   Easing fears about the banking system have helped Treasury yields to steady 
somewhat in the bond market, following some historic-sized moves earlier this 
month.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps set rates for mortgages and 
other important loans, fell to 3.56% from 3.57% late Tuesday.

   The two-year yield, which moves more on expectations for the Fed and has 
been particularly unsettled, dropped to 4.03% from 4.08%. Earlier this month, 
it went from more than 5% to less than 3.80%, which is a massive move.

   The path ahead for the Federal Reserve and other central banks has suddenly 
become much more difficult to navigate because of the banking industry's 
struggles. Typically, the still-high inflation seen around the world would call 
for even higher interest rates. But that would risk applying more pressure on 
banks, which could pull back on lending and squeeze oxygen out of the economy.

   Traders are split on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates 
again at its next meeting in May or take a pause. If it doesn't raise rates, 
that would be the first meeting where it doesn't in more than a year.

   Higher rates can slow inflation, but they do so by bluntly hammering the 
entire economy. That raises the risk of a recession while also dragging down 
prices for stocks and other investments.

   Traders are largely betting the Fed will have to cut rates as soon as this 
summer, something that can act like steroids for markets. But the Fed has been 
hinting it sees perhaps one more hike before holding rates steady through this 
year.

   Many professionals on Wall Street are taking the Fed at its word, saying 
rate cuts would likely come more quickly only if the economy is in serious 
trouble.

   For now, a remarkably resilient job market has been holding up the economy, 
even as portions of it weaken under the strain of higher interest rates.

   With the end of March approaching, most companies are close to wrapping up 
their first quarter of the year. They'll begin telling investors in upcoming 
weeks how much profit they made, and expectations are largely weak.

   Analysts expect a 6% drop in earnings per share for companies in the S&P 500 
index, versus year-earlier levels. That would be the worst showing since the 
spring of 2020, at the height of the pandemic.

   Lululemon jumped 13.4% after the athletic apparel company reported stronger 
profit and revenue for its latest quarter than expected.

   Micron Technology on Wednesday rose 5.2% even though it reported a bigger 
loss and weaker revenue for its latest quarter than expected. Analysts said 
they were expecting a rough quarter, and they see some signs of optimism on the 
horizon as bloated inventories in the industry appear to be working down.

 
 
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