US banks tumble as bad news piles up

Bloomberg

Big banks extended losses into a fourth day, as 10-year Treasury yields tumbled, the 3-month/10-year yield curve inverted for the first time since 2007, US manufacturing data missed expectations and Europe’s economic outlook darkened.
The KBW Bank Index slid 4.5 percent, the most since December 4, to a session low after President Trump said he will nominate long-time supporter and Jerome Powell critic Stephen Moore to the Federal Reserve Board. The index hit its lowest intraday since January 15, with top decliners once again including regional banks Regions Financial Corp., KeyCorp, and Citizens Financial Group. Silicon Valley lender SVB Financial Group was the biggest loser, slumping 9 percent, also the most since early December.
Banks have been hit hard by the Fed’s surprisingly dovish turn this week, with the KBW Bank Index dropping almost 10 percent in the past four days. Bellwether Bank of America Corp. was down as much as 5.2 percent, the most since December 6, though shares are still up 9 percent so far this year.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. was off by 3.3 percent after closing below its 50-day moving average, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. was down 3.5 percent. Citigroup sank 5.4 percent; earlier, the bank was said to have ousted eight equities traders in Hong Kong and suspended three others after a sweeping internal investigation into dealings with some clients.
US 10-year Treasury yields fell another 9 basis points to 2.45 percent — down from 3.24% last November.
The preliminary US Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) slowed to 52.5 in March, a 21-month low, IHS Markit said. The manufacturing output index fell to the lowest in close to three years.
Earlier, German 10-year Bund yields dropped below zero for the first time in more than two years after German manufacturing contracted further, compounding fears of an economic slowdown across the euro area.
In the UK, Theresa May plans a third vote on her Brexit deal next week.