US open: Stocks higher as Biden declares US banking system to be 'safe'

Wall Street stocks opened higher as market participants digested comments from Joe Biden on the state of the US banking system in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.62% at 32,106.50, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.64% to 3,886.32 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.11% firmer at 11,262.07.

The Dow opened 196.86 points higher on Monday, taking a bite of losses recorded in the previous session as traders thumbed over last month's hotter-than-expected non-farm payrolls report.

Failed Silicon Valley Bank remained firmly in focus prior to the open on Monday, with depositors said to have access to their money starting today, according to a joint statement from the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve and the FDIC.

US President Joe Biden told Americans that the country's banking system was safe and vowed to push for stricter regulations.

"Americans can have confidence that the banking system is safe. Your deposits will be there when you need them," Biden said.

In response to those who warned against the so-called 'moral hazard' of backstopping uninsured deposits, the President noted that SVB Financial Group's managers would be fired and that its shareholders and bondholders would lose their money. On the regulatory front, the President said that he would push for stricter oversight of lenders.

The Federal Reserve also revealed it was creating a new Bank Term Funding Program aimed at safeguarding deposits, with the facility set to offer loans of up to one year to banks, saving associations, credit unions and other financial institutions.

SVB, which said on Wednesday that it would need to raise $2.25bn to shore up its balance sheet after selling all its bonds at a $1.8bn loss, was boarded up by regulators after customers pulled out $42.0bn of deposits by the end of Thursday. HSBC has since agreed to acquire SVB's UK arm for £1.

On the macro front, consumer inflation expectations fell to 4.2% in February, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, down from a reading of 5% in the previous two months and the lowest reading since May 2021. Meanwhile, inflation expectations for the three-year outlook remained unchanged at 2.7% and increased by 0.1 percentage point to 2.6% over five years.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Monday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $234.90 3.09%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $155.29 2.43%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $254.50 2.38%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $151.88 2.28%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.55 2.26%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $140.23 2.22%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $127.43 1.58%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $467.18 1.49%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $265.58 1.35%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $289.91 1.26%

Dow Jones - Fallers

American Express Co. (AXP) $160.44 -3.17%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.68 -2.23%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $321.49 -1.89%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $26.73 -1.80%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $131.73 -1.44%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $92.90 -0.71%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $225.59 -0.63%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $174.65 -0.59%
3M Co. (MMM) $103.81 -0.24%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $117.31 -0.16%

S&P 500 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $231.11 19.12%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $44.76 6.16%
Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) $95.43 5.31%
Wisconsin Energy Corp. (WEC) $92.15 5.23%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.25 5.04%
CMS Energy Corp. (CMS) $60.99 5.00%
Sba Communications Corp. (SBAC) $252.00 4.95%
Eversource Energy (ES) $76.38 4.80%
Public Storage (PSA) $294.31 4.57%
Crown Castle International (CCI) $132.65 4.55%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Keycorp (KEY) $11.54 -26.31%
Comerica Inc. (CMA) $45.01 -23.47%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $31.92 -20.89%
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) $24.98 -17.75%
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (HBAN) $11.27 -15.67%
Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW) $51.17 -12.83%
Truist Financial Corp. (TFC) $34.56 -11.02%
US Bancorp (USB) $36.95 -9.03%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $23.55 -8.22%
Synchrony Financial (SYF) $29.57 -7.97%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $231.11 19.12%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $145.56 3.76%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $38.08 3.11%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $234.90 3.09%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $37.06 2.72%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $73.87 2.58%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $254.50 2.38%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $151.88 2.28%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $229.86 2.27%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $293.48 2.17%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $106.95 -4.36%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.15 -3.57%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $95.12 -3.23%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $53.23 -3.09%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $159.58 -3.01%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $47.78 -2.90%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $15.07 -2.53%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $35.22 -2.33%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $10.33 -1.90%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $170.29 -1.82%