Technology stocks were the beneficiary of a turbulent week for global markets, as fears mounted that the turmoil in the banking sector would tip the global economy into recession.
Despite a Friday slump, the Nasdaq 100 rose 5.8% for its best week since November, as investors snapped up old standby favourites in the tech sector, including Microsoft and Alphabet, on bets that the Federal Reserve would slow its tightening path. For the seventh straight session, the policy-sensitive two-year yield swung more than 20 basis points as traders rebalanced rate-hike bets.
Despite a 1.1% drop in banking stocks on Friday, the S&P 500 gained 1.4% for the week. The financial sector fared the worst, with First Republic Bank, the latest US lender to declare bankruptcy, falling more than 70% despite the larger banks throwing a lifeline to the regional lender on Thursday. Credit Suisse exacerbated the sector's woes after sources reported that at least four major banks, including Deutsche Bank, were limiting their trading with the troubled Swiss lender. A regional bank index has dropped 15% in the last five days.
On Thursday, banks including JPMorgan and Citigroup came out in support of First Republic. While the rescue attempt initially boosted sentiment, billionaire investor Bill Ackman was among those who questioned whether it would be enough to bring the crisis to a close. Meanwhile, in the most recent week, US banks borrowed a total of $164.8 billion from two Federal Reserve backstop facilities, indicating increased funding strains in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's failure.
