*
Jobless claims remain low, new home sales rise
*
Block Inc slides after Hindenburg discloses short position
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US SEC threatens to sue Coinbase, shares drop
*
Regional banks head lower
(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street see-sawed to
a higher close on Thursday as market participants were reassured
by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's reassurances that
measures will be taken to keep Americans' deposits safe.
"You watch this market and you watch it change direction in
a short period of time and it’s based on some market
participants’ interpretation over what someone said and how it
affects how their trading," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio
manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta.
"The market as a whole is telling you is there are a lot of different ways to interpret all the things people are saying."
The session followed Wednesday's boom-and-bust moves after
the Fed's rate hike, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's subsequent Q&A
session and Yellen's testimony before Congress in which she
ruled out blanket protection for all deposits.
Interest rate hikes by central banks around the world have
stressed the banking sector, which became manifest with the
recent failures of SVB Financial Group and Signature
Bank .
Jitters among regional banks persist.
Comments from the Bank of England that inflation will
probably quickly fade also helped fuel hopes of light at the end
of the central bank tightening tunnel.
"Every central bank that was on path to raise rates
raised them," GLOBALT's Martin added. "Therefore they’ve all
identified that inflation is currently the most important issue
and poses the most risk to the system, whereas the effect of
higher rates on financial stability isn’t as much of a concern -
although it remains highly concerning."
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 11.12 points, or 0.28%, to end at 3,948.09 points,
while the Nasdaq Composite gained 116.85 points, or
1.00%, to 11,786.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.08 points, or 0.21%, to 32,096.19.
Shares of First Republic Bank dropped in volatile
trading in the wake of Yellen's testimony.
Chipmaker Nvidia Corp advanced after Needham raised
its price target.
Block Inc shares slid after Hindenburg Research
disclosed its short positions in the company.
Crypto exchange Coinbase Global Inc tanked in the
wake of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's threat to
sue the company.
Accenture surged after it announced plans to cut
about 2.5% of its workforce.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Amruta
Khandekar and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru
Editing by Marguerita Choy)
