Trading of Several Banking Stocks Halted Due to Extreme Volatility

• The news follows today’s comments by President Joe Biden regarding closure of SVB.
• The crypto market on the other hand rallied.

With the weekend’s news of the closure of a Silicon Valley bank, which dominated headlines, stock trading in the shares of many banks was suspended today due to extreme volatility. A few examples include Charles Schwab, Western Alliance, and First Alliance.

The news follows today’s comments by President Joe Biden lamenting the eventual closure of SVB. Although banks were closed over the weekend, the president reassured the public’s fears that the financial system was still secure.

No one anticipated Silicon Valley Bank’s eventual demise. The largest banks’ collapse since the financial crisis of 2008 caused widespread panic in the financial industry. After yesterday evening’s closure of Signature Bank, the market has taken notice.

Crypto Market Rallies

A report has surfaced that stock trading for a number of financial institutions has been temporarily suspended owing to market volatility. In particular, volatility caused an 18% suspension in trade for Charles Schwab. 

The financial sector is under assault, as per experts at the opening of the stock market today. The Nasdaq KBW index of commercial banks fell 13% in premarket trade, it was reported. It was also revealed that First Republic fell by 66% and PacWest Bankcorp fell by 46%. Zions Bank fell 44% and Comerica 36%, two of the largest regional banks, both were down.

The crypto market on the other hand rallied. The price of Bitcoin surpassed the $24k mark. Moreover, Ethereum prices breached the $1600 mark. Other altcoins were also trading in green. Circle-issued USDC surged and is now almost at parity to the $1 mark.