Regional banks pull back on concerns about bad loans; High data storage stocks

Reports of rising loan losses from regional banks weighed on the sector, while expectations of artificial intelligence-driven growth helped lift shares of companies in data storage and memory chips.

Major US stock indexes closed lower after a volatile session as US-China trade tensions remained in focus and investors digested a slew of earnings reports. The Nasdaq fell 0.5%, the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, and the Dow Jones fell 0.7%. See here for more reports from Investopedia In today’s market movements.

Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) and Regions Financial (RF) were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, with both stocks falling nearly 6% after Zions Bancorporation (ZION) said it would take a $50 million charge in the third quarter to cover a pair of bad loans, Western said. Alliance (WAL) said it was dealing with a fraudulent borrower. Western Alliance shares fell nearly 11% and Zions shares fell 13%.

Kenvue (KVUE) shares also fell about 13%. A lawsuit filed this week in the United Kingdom alleged that the consumer health company’s baby powder causes cancer and other diseases. Kenvue completed its separation from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) in August 2023, which was ordered to pay $966 million in damages after a jury in the US found the company liable for similar claims.

Shares of cybersecurity company F5 (FFIV) are down nearly 11%. The app delivery and security services provider said Wednesday that it was the target of a major cyberattack that it attributed to a nation-state actor.

The S&P 500’s best performer on Thursday came from shares of JB Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), which rose 22% after the logistics company beat estimates for third-quarter sales and earnings. Improvements in efficiency and network balance have helped drive growth in the company’s intermodal business, which combines rail and truck services.

Shares of Micron Technology ( MU ) rose nearly 6% after a pair of target price increases from analysts at Citi and UBS, saying they expect the memory chip maker to benefit from a supply shortage in the face of growing demand for artificial intelligence.

Shares of Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) also rose, adding nearly 5% and 3%, respectively, after Wedbush raised its targets for the stocks, suggesting data storage supplies may be tight for years, supporting higher prices and margins for hard drive makers.