On March 9, EST, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed down collectively. The Nasdaq fell 2.05%, the S&P 500 fell 1.85%, and the Dow fell 1.66%.

The S&P 500 bank index plunged nearly 6%, its biggest one-day drop in more than two years.

　　Among them, the stock price of SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank, plunged more than 60% on Thursday, the largest drop on record, and fell further by nearly 20% after hours.

　　On Thursday local time, Silicon Valley Bank, which mainly provides loans to technology companies, had to sell some securities worth $1.75 billion in its portfolio at a loss to make up for rapidly declining customer deposits, and sought to raise $2.25 billion through the sale of common and preferred shares. The move was seen by Wall Street as a panic selling of assets and a violent dilution of equity.

　　Panic gripped Wall Street, sending a general shudder across bank stocks and stoking concerns that rate hikes by the Federal Reserve are hindering banks from raising capital.

　　Big banks buy Treasuries and bonds when interest rates are close to zero.

Now, the value of those bonds has plummeted as the Federal Reserve raises rates to fight inflation, and banks are facing losses.

For SVB, nearly half of the tech and healthcare companies it works with are venture-backed, and the startups are feeling the pinch for cash.

　　At the same time, the cryptocurrency bank Silvergate fell more than 42%, and its stock price hit a record low. Silvergate previously announced that it would cease operations and voluntarily liquidate its subsidiary Silvergate Bank, which provides services to the cryptocurrency industry.

　　The sell-off in U.S. bank stocks was triggered as the two companies tumbled.

The market value of the four largest U.S. banks has shrunk by about $52 billion.

Among them, JPMorgan Chase (JPM.US) shares fell 5.41%, with a market value loss of approximately US$22 billion; Bank of America fell 6.2%, with a market value loss of approximately US$16 billion; Wells Fargo fell 6.18%, with a market value reduction of approximately US$10 billion; Citigroup It fell 4.1%, and its market value was reduced by about 4 billion US dollars.

　　Investors, meanwhile, were also unnerved by Friday's key jobs report from the U.S. Labor Department, which they hope will provide some clarity on the Fed's next policy moves.

　　Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose above 200,000 for the first time in seven weeks.

As of the week of March 4, the number of people applying for unemployment benefits in the United States was 211,000, a new high since the week of December 24, 2022. It was expected to be 195,000 and the previous value was 190,000.

In the United States, the number of people continuing to apply for unemployment benefits in the week ended February 25 was 1.718 million, which was expected to be 1.659 million, and the previous value was 1.655 million.

The agency said that the number of people filing for unemployment benefits in the United States was higher than expected last week, recording 211,100 people, after the data had recorded fewer than 200,000 people for seven consecutive weeks.

The higher-than-expected unemployment figures eased concerns that the hot job market will push the Fed to turn hawkish.