Stock market today: Wall Street steadies, bank stocks rise
Wall Street is holding relatively steady coming off its worst week in nearly two months as stocks of several beaten-down banks rally NEW YORK -- Wall Street is holding relatively steady Monday coming off its worst week in nearly two months, as stocks of several beaten-down banks rally. The S &P 500 was virtually unchanged in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was edging down by 16 points, or less than 0.1%, at 33,657, as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.2% lower. Besides a strong reading on U.S. jobs, which calmed worries about a possible recession but raised concerns about high inflation, last week was dominated by fears about smaller and mid-sized banks. PacWest Bancorp jumped 20.7% Monday to recover some of its steep 43% plunge last week. It said on Friday night that it’s cutting its dividend to help it build its financial strength. Several other smaller- and mid-sized banks also rose, including a 6.8% rise for Western Alliance Bancorp. T...