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KIMBERLEY KOENIG

Stock Market Sinks As Nasdaq Falls 1.8%; Bank Shutdown Hits Sector And Beyond

The stock market's major indexes fell in the final hour of trading, closing near session lows, in a tumultuous day Friday. Investors were shaken by the Silicon Valley Bank closure, which hit the entire sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1%. The S&P 500 fell 1.5%. The Nasdaq composite shed 1.8%. The small-cap Russell 2000 fared worse, down 2.9%, weighed down by its 15% banking component.

NYSE and Nasdaq volume was higher than on Thursday, in preliminary numbers.

The S&P 500 and Dow found resistance at their 200-day moving averages during an earlier bounce attempt today. Both closed below that line. The Nasdaq fell below its 50-day moving average, a day after it closed below the 200-day line.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust ETF sank 1.4%. The Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell 3.2%.

Crude oil advanced 1.1% to $76.52 per barrel.  Bitcoin futures fell another 0.8% to $19,915.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield dipped 22 basis points to 3.69% as investors fled to lower-risk assets.

The Labor Department's February nonfarm payrolls grew 311,000 vs. Econoday's 223,000 consensus. Private payrolls grew 265,000 vs. the 213,000 expected. Manufacturing payrolls dropped 4,000 vs. the 10,000 increase forecast. The unemployment rate crept up to 3.6% vs. the 3.4% projected.

Stock Market Woes: Bank Stocks Sell-Off Widens

SVB Financial plunged over 60% in premarket trading on top of yesterday's 60% drop, triggering a trading halt. The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation closed the bank Friday. The parent of Silicon Valley Bank faces a liquidity crunch that has sparked fears about the broader bank sector.

Sunrun was pulled down 12.3% on the SVB news. The solar storage and battery company is an SVB Financial loan customer.

First Republic Bank sold off but pared earlier losses to down 14.9%, adding to Thursday's 16.5% drop.

Signature Bank tumbled 22.9% in very heavy volume. It added to yesterday's 12.2% sell-off.

The bank sell-off affected banking ETFs, with the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF down 4.4%, on top of Thursday's 8.1% decline. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF tumbled 4.1%.

The selling spilled into other financials, with broker Charles Schwab dropping 11.7%. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF held up better, down 1.8%.

Futures: FDIC Ready For Monday After SVB Collapse?

Stock Market Movers: Caterpillar Is The Dow Dog

Caterpillar gapped down 5.8% after UBS downgraded the stock to sell from neutral, saying there are signs that demand for heavy machinery is slowing.

Shares fell further below the 50-day moving average. The break could be interpreted as a sell signal, although the stock is technically forming a base. CAT was the Dow's biggest loser today.

FTI Consulting rose 3.7% and broke out of a 35-week long choppy base, going past the 188.70 handle buy point. Shares jumped on news that FTI expanded its partnership with legal technology company Relativity to expand into Australia.

FTI posted a beat on Q4 top and bottom lines on Feb. 23, lifting its shares 10.5%. The global firm specializes in finance, litigation, economic, technology and strategic consulting.

DocuSign gapped down 22.9% after reporting Q4 earnings and the news that the digital document company's CFO will be stepping down.

Oracle gapped down 3.2% after reporting mixed February-ended quarter results Thursday after the bell. ORCL sank deeper below its 50-day line.

Chinese solar stock JinkoSolar plummeted 12.8% in heavy volume, after reporting a miss on Q4 EPS and a beat on sales. Shares dropped below the 50-day line and spoiled a cup base that had been forming since January.

Gap gapped down 6.1% after reporting worse-than-expected Q4 results, including a loss for its January-ended quarter. The news sent shares below the 200-day line. A breakout at 13.76 has failed.

Follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock news on Twitter @IBD_KKoenig.

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