TCS MD Resigns Highlights: Rajesh Gopinathan quits, K Krithivasan appointed as CEO Designate

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Banking stocks give up gains as caution reigns

European banks slipped into negative territory in early afternoon trade after rallying 2.6% at the start of the session.

The sector was down 0.17% at 1:07 p.m. London time despite Credit Suisse continuing to trade 21% higher.

However bank losses were minor compared with Wednesday. Societe Generale was down 1.35% while Deutsche Bank shed 1.4%, reported CNBC.

European stocks fall as ECB hikes rates; Credit Suisse up 20%

European stock markets moved lower after the European Central Bank said it would hike interest rates by 50 basis points despite recent volatility in the region’s banks. The Stoxx 600 index moved from a narrow gain to a 0.15% loss after the announcement at 1:15 p.m. London time, reported CNBC.

European Central Bank calls Europe's banks "resilient," with strong finances amid US bank failures, Credit Suisse woes.

Dow falls 200 points, regional banks drop

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Thursday as regional banks slid once again on growing fears of a banking crisis within the U.S. and Europe.

The 30-stock index were down 222 points, or 0.7%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.6%, while Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.5%, reported CNBC.

Western Alliance falls in premarket after Fitch places bank on negative rating watch

Western Alliance Bancorp tumbled more than 8% in extended trading after Fitch placed the bank on rating watch negative.

Fitch said the downgrade came as the fallout around Silicon Valley Bank’s closure and market conditions have created liquidity stresses outside the baseline assumptions, reported CNBC.

The baseline projections for growth in 2023 have been revised up to an average of 1.0% as a result of both the decline in energy prices and the economy’s greater resilience to the challenging international environment, ECB said.

"The Governing Council decided to raise the three key ECB interest rates by 50 basis points. Accordingly, the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will be increased to 3.50%, 3.75% and 3.00% respectively, with effect from 22 March 2023," the central bank said in a press release.

European Central Bank hikes key tates by 50 bps to 3.5 percent

Applications for jobless aid in US fall last week

Fewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve's efforts to cool the economy and tamp down inflation.

Applications for jobless claims in the US for the week ending March 11 fell by 20,000 to 192,000 from 212,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of week-to-week volatility, fell by 750 to 196,500, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the eighth straight week. Applications for unemployment benefits are seen as a barometer for layoffs in the US.

Euro, Swiss franc recover a little as market mood improves

The euro and Swiss franc regained some lost ground on Thursday, as markets reacted positively to the Swiss central bank extending support to Credit Suisse. The euro was up 0.28% at $1.0608. 

Some calm was restored to markets after the Swiss lender said it would borrow up to $54 billion from the Swiss National Bank to shore up liquidity and investor confidence after the bank's shares plunged as much as 30% on Wednesday.

That helped the Swiss franc to strengthen, and the dollar at one point fell more than 1% against the franc, to 0.9232, reversing some of its 2.15% surge on Wednesday - the largest daily gain since 2015.