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US stocks tumbled on Friday as European banking stocks fell, Oil slid on SPR news, Yellen speaks to Congress on the banking situation, Walmart to lay off hundreds of workers, Bitcoin may reach $30K, and more financial news.
Fears of further pressure in the banking sector, coupled with the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hike, pushed US stock futures down on Friday morning, Yahoo Finance reported.
S&P 500 futures fell 33 points or -0.83%, Dow Jones futures plummeted 299 points or -0.93%, and NASDAQ futures slid 78.5 points or -0.61% as of 9:29 AM on Friday.
Gold was up 2.5% at $1,995.
The benchmark US 10-Year Treasury was down -0.108 to yield 3.296%, while the 2-Year Treasury also slid -0.196 for a yield of 3.61% as of 9:33 AM EDT.
Oil futures were down on Friday, further extending Thursday’s losses, fueled by worries about a potential oversupply after U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said refilling the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) may take several years, CNBC reported.
WTI crude was down -3.09% and trading at $67.94 a barrel, while the benchmark Brent crude was down -2.92% and trading at $73.69 a barrel as of 8:31 AM CDT on Friday.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told a House panel it was ready to take “additional actions if warranted” to stabilize banks, CNBC reported. A day earlier, Yellen told senators the treasury was not considering insuring all US bank deposits without congressional approval.
European banking stocks tumbled on Friday as fears rose that the recent crises at several banks could spill over into the wider sector, CNN reported. Shares in Germany’s Deutsche Bank plunged 14%. Stocks for two of the most-troubled European banks slid, with UBS dipping 6.7% and Credit Suisse slipping 7%. Europe’s Stoxx Europe 600 Banks index, which tracks 42 big EU and UK banks, fell 5%. London’s bank-heavy FTSE 100 index dropped 2%.
Walmart has announced it will be laying off hundreds of employees at its e-commerce fulfillment centers across the country. Walmart becomes the latest in a growing list of retailers, including Amazon and Target, that are cutting costs and bracing for a tougher year ahead, CNBC reported. Walmart is the nation’s largest private employer.
Walmart confirmed to Reuters it is eliminating hundreds of jobs at five fulfillment centers located in Pedricktown, New Jersey; Fort Worth, Texas; Chino, California; Davenport, Florida; and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Continued turmoil in the banking sector is fueling a rebound for Bitcoin, which some analysts predict could go as high as $30,000. On Friday, Bitcoin was up 3.9% at $28,392. Other digital currencies were buoyed as well, including Ethereum, up 4.7% at $1,821 as of 9:39 AM EDT, CoinDesk reported.
