news/ATVI/2023.03.24/Wall Street ends volatile week higher as Fed officials ease bank fears.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)*KBW Regional Bank index rebounds*U.S.-listed shares of Deutsche Bank slide*Activision surges as regulators drop concerns on Microsoft
deal*Indexes up: Dow 0.41%, S&P 0.56%, Nasdaq 0.31%NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) -U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, marking the end of a
tumultuous week as Federal Reserve officials calmed investor
fears over a potential liquidity crisis in the banking sector.While all three major U.S. stock indexes started the
session sharply lower on the heels of asell-offamong European banks, those losses reversed by closing
bell, repeating the intraday roller coaster ride of recent
sessions.At the conclusion of an up-and-down week, marked by a
Fed interest ratehikeand mounting worries over the health of the banking system,
all three indexes notched weekly gains."Equity markets drifted higher as concerns lingered
about another banking flare up in the U.S. or abroad," said
David Carter, managing director at JPMorgan Private Bank in New
York. "Wall Street is taking its cues from Washington and other
capitals as it relates to interest rates and banking
regulations."In separate appearances, three regional Fed bank presidents
said that their confidence that the banking system was not
facing a liquidity crisis is what led to the decision to
implement a 25 basis point policy rate hike on Wednesday.But while Fed officials continue to see additional rate
hikes as a strong possibility, financial markets are now
favoring the likelihood of a no hike at all at the conclusion of
its next policy meeting in May."The Fed may be jaw-boning a bit as it says more rate
increases may be coming this year," JPMorgan's Carter added. "It
helps both their inflation goal and suggests confidence in our
economic system."Worries over potential contagion beyond regional banks
threatening to spread to their larger peers was sparked by a
sell-off of European bank shares.That sell-off was prompted by the rising cost of insuring
Deutsche Bank's debt, expressed by its credit default swaps,
coming on the heels of the state-sponsored buyout of Credit
Suisse, has fed into the narrative of sector-wide stress.But those worries eased by mid-afternoon.While the S&P Bank index ended modestly lower,
the KBW Regional Bank index jumped 2.9%.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 132.28 points,
or 0.41%, to 32,237.53, the S&P 500 gained 22.27 points,
or 0.56%, to 3,970.99 and the Nasdaq Composite added
36.56 points, or 0.31%, to 11,823.96.Nine of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, with
defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate
enjoying the biggest percentage gains. Consumer
discretionary and financials were the two
losers.U.S.-traded shares of Deutsche Bank dropped3.1%.Shares of major U.S. banks, such as JPMorgan Chase & Co
, Wells Fargo pared their losses but still ended
lower, while Bank of America flipped green.Regional lenders PacWest Bancorp, Western
Alliance Bancorp jumped 3.2% and 5.8%, respectively,
while    First Republic Bank dropped 1.4%.Activision Blizzard jumped 5.9% after the UK
competition regulator dropped some competition concerns in the
Microsoft-Activision deal.Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE
by a 1.47-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.26-to-1 ratio favored
advancers.The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and 35 new
lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 298 new
lows.Volume on U.S. exchanges was 11.08 billion shares,
compared with the 12.84 billion average over the last 20 trading
days.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Amruta
Khandekar and Ankika Biswas in Bangalore
Editing by Marguerita Choy)