Dow Jones Falls 250 Points As First Republic Crashes 20% On Dividend Suspension

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 250 points Friday, as First Republic Bank (FRC) dived 20% after the company detailed its financial conditions late Thursday and suspended its dividend. Meanwhile, FedEx (FDX) soared more than 9% on strong earnings results.

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Late Thursday, First Republic said it is focused on reducing its borrowings and evaluating the size and configuration of its balance sheet going forward. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) declined 2.8%, on pace to give back part of Thursday’s gains.

Other regional banks were also lower in the wake of Thursday’s rally. Western Alliance (WAL) fell 5.2%, while Keycorp (KEY) was off 3.8%. Credit Suisse (CS) declined more than 5% in early morning trade. Earlier on Thursday, a group of big U.S. banks led by JPMorgan (JPM) deposited $30 billion in a joint rescue of First Republic.

Elsewhere, the University of Michigan’s March Consumer Sentiment Index is one of the final economic data points coming out this week. The report is due at 10 a.m. ET. Wall Street expects a reading of 67.0 for the mid-month estimate.

On the earnings front, FedEx raced 9.2% higher in early morning trade after the company’s strong fiscal third-quarter earnings late Thursday along with bullish earnings guidance. The delivery giant fell short on revenue. FedEx shares signaled a breakout above a flat base’s 217.49 buy point in premarket trade.

Stock Market Today

Chip giant Nvidia (NVDA) rallied nearly 2% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock from equal weight to overweight with a raised price target of 304.

Electric-vehicle leader Tesla (TSLA) traded 0.5% higher Friday morning. Also, Dow Jones tech giants Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) were up and down after today’s stock market open.

Chip leader Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), IBD SwingTrader stock Meta Platforms (META) and IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock Palo Alto Networks (PANW) — as well as Dow Jones stocks Nike (NKE) and Salesforce (CRM) — are among the top stocks to watch in the ongoing stock market correction.

Palo Alto is an IBD Leaderboard watchlist stock. AMD featured in Wednesday’s IBD Screen Of The Day. And Nike was featured in this week’s Stocks Near A Buy Zone column. Meta is an IBD SwingTrader stock.

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Dow Jones Today: Oil Prices, Treasury Yields

After Friday’s opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8%, and the S&P 500 was down 0.5%. The Nasdaq composite, which doesn’t track financials, traded down 0.3% in morning action. A triple witching day of options and futures expiration make higher-than-normal trading volume likely during Friday’s session.

Among U.S. exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.3% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) moved down 0.5% early Friday.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rebounded to 3.58% Thursday, still on pace for a big weekly loss amid the ongoing banking crisis. On Friday, the 10-year Treasury yield eased to 3.5% in morning trade.

U.S. oil prices fell back to $68 a barrel, and remained down around 10% for the week, as West Texas Intermediate tacked toward its worst week since early December.

Stock Market Correction

On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1.2% and the S&P 500 advanced 1.8%. The Nasdaq composite surged 2.5%. The small-cap Russell 2000 shed recent weakness, climbing 1.4%.

Thursday’s Big Picture column commented, “Thursday’s action was bullish despite the lack of decisive volume, as a number of leading stocks continue to set up and break out past correct buy points. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq moved above a trendline that connects a few highs going back to Feb. 2, another sign of strengthening market conditions.”

Now is an important time to read IBD’s The Big Picture column amid the new stock market correction.

Five Dow Jones Stocks To Buy And Watch Now

Dow Jones Stocks To Watch: Nike, Salesforce

Since bottoming on Oct. 3, Nike shares have rallied as much as 59% to their recent high at 131.31. Now the stock is consolidating within a flat base that offers a 131.41 buy point, according to IBD MarketSmith pattern recognition. NKE stock moved up 0.4% early Friday.

Following recent declines, the stock remains below its 50-day moving average, a key benchmark. A decisive retake would be bullish for the base-building prospects, carving the right side of the pattern. The relative strength line is also holding up well during the rapidly developing stock market correction.

In recent weeks, Dow Jones leader Salesforce showed big upside strength after strong fourth-quarter results. Those gains rapidly disappeared during last week’s losses, but now the stock is back above a 178.94 cup-with-handle entry this week. Still, the market is in a correction, so investors should avoid new purchases until the market environment improves. CRM stock lost 0.7% early Friday.

3 Top Growth Stocks To Watch In The Stock Market Correction

Top Stocks To Watch: AMD, Meta, Palo Alto

Advanced Micro Devices broke out past an 89.04 buy point in a flat base during this week’s gains and is now extended beyond the 5% buy range that topped out at 93.49. AMD is featured in Wednesday’s IBD Screen Of The Day column. AMD stock rose 1.3% Friday morning.

Backstory: In early February, the chipmaker reported stronger-than-expected data center chip sales in the fourth quarter. But AMD tempered that news with a soft outlook for the current period.

Backstory: Like social media rivals, Meta is struggling due to a sharp reduction in advertising revenue as clients squirm over macroeconomic concerns, recession fears and higher interest rates. This is happening as it spends billions of dollars on a risky bet to build the “metaverse,” a virtual reality world that has yet to take hold.

IBD Leaderboard stock Palo Alto Networks is nearing a cup-with-handle’s 192.94 buy point after Thursday’s 3.25% rise. PANW stock traded down 0.3% Friday.

Backstory: On Feb. 21, the cybersecurity giant announced good results for the January-ended quarter that saw earnings hit $1.05 a share, up 81% vs. a year earlier, on a 26% jump in revenue to $1.7 billion.

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Stocks To Watch In Stock Market Correction

These are four top stocks to watch in today’s stock market, including two Dow Jones leaders.

Source: IBD Data As Of March 16, 2023

Join IBD experts as they analyze leading stocks in the current stock market correction on IBD Live

Tesla Stock

Tesla stock gained 2% Thursday, erasing Wednesday’s losses. Shares continue to rebound from their key 50-day moving average. Shares closed Thursday around 52% off their 52-week high.

TSLA stock rose 0.5% Friday morning, as it struggled to defend Thursday’s gains.

Dow Jones Leaders: Apple, Microsoft

Among Dow Jones stocks, Apple shares rose 1.9% Thursday, adding to this week’s rebound from the long-term 200-day line. AAPL fell 0.1% Friday morning.

Microsoft shares moved further above its 200-day line after Thursday’s 4.05% rally. MSFT stock is just shy of a new buy point at 276.86 due to the forming flat base. The stock is around 13% off its 52-week high. MSFT stock gained 0.9% early Friday.

Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on Twitter at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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