US financials on track for worst day since Silicon Valley Bank crisis
The last cyclical holdouts are finally crumbling.
US banks are getting crushed, with the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund down 3.6% as of 10:45 a.m. ET. If that holds, it’ll be the worst session for the fund since March 2023, when the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank catalyzed a mini-crisis across regional banks.
All but three of the 73 stocks in the ETF are down; big banks JPMorgan and Bank of America are off more than 5%.
The performance of US financials had been one of the best indicators that the stock market’s drawdown didn’t have much to do with the economy, but rather, was more of a reversal in high-flying momentum stocks. On Friday, XLF ended the week just one penny shy of its all-time high.
But tariffs, which are poised to add another headwind to an economy that’s been losing steam amid high interest rates and waning fiscal support, appear to be the straw that has broken the camel’s back in ushering in this huge decline.
