U.S. stocks edged lower on Tuesday and bond yields continued to rise as investors remain focused on the acquisition of Silicon Valley Bank by North Carolina-based First Citizens on Monday.
Contracts on the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index slid downwards by 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained little changed during early trading.
Bond yields, in contrast, moved higher, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rising 3.56% during the morning session. After rising more than 5% during the previous session, West Texas Intermediate crude oil edged slightly lower to $72 per barrel.
Investors’ sights remain firmly focused on the banking sector following the acquisition of SVB by First Citizens. SVB’s collapse is estimated to have cost the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund about $20 billion. Still, the takeover marginally restored investor confidence in the banking sector, with the KBW Nasdaq Bank Index closing 2.5% higher.