Stocks closed lower on Thursday, giving up earlier gains, led by declines in bank stocks on worries about bad loans. Traders also juggled persistent trade tensions and an ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 301.07 points, or nearly 0.7%, to close at 45,952.24. Earlier in the day, the 30-stock index had gained 170 points. The S&P 500 finished 0.6% lower at 6,629.07, giving up a 0.6% gain at the highs of the session. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% to settle at 22,562.54.
Regional banks Zions and Western Alliance fell to their lows of the day as indexes rolled over. Zions plunged 13% after taking a sizable charge because of bad loans to a couple borrowers. Western Alliance dropped 11% after alleging a borrower had committed fraud.
"The market is just really skittish about credit-related losses," Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, told CNBC. "The market is not very happy about [the regional banks' comments], so most small-cap financials, banks are down today."
The banking industry has been on edge lately following the bankruptcies of two auto industry-related companies that have raised concerns about loose lending practices, especially in the opaque private credit market.
"When you see one cockroach, there are probably more," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said on the bank's earnings conference call earlier this week, related to the collapse of First Brands and Tricolor Holdings. Jefferies, which has some exposure to First Brands, shed 10% on Thursday, bringing its losses for the month to 25%.
The decline in stocks coincided with a jump in the Cboe Volatility Index and moves lower in bond yields and the U.S. dollar. The Vix spiked to its highest since May, while the 10-year Treasury yield fell and broke below 4%. The U.S. dollar index lost nearly 0.5%.
Trade tensions between China and the U.S. recently increased, adding to volatility on Wall Street.
President Donald Trump last week threatened to place an additional 100% tariff on any goods coming from China in response to the country's new export controls on rare earth minerals. The trade tone softened over subsequent days, but tensions increased again Tuesday, when Trump threatened China with a cooking oil trade ban.
"The Trump administration desires to influence and control a lot more things than past administrations have ... so they're constantly jolting the market in unexpected ways," Ellerbroek said. "That's going to continue, and investors just have to kind of accept that as a new fact of life and be on their toes."
Investors are also keeping a watchful eye as the U.S. government shutdown continues for a third week. The stoppage has led to an indefinite shutdown of crucial economic data releases from federal agencies.