Stocks traded up March 16 as investors get ready for next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting where the Jerome Powell-led Federal Reserve could kick off its first rate hike for 2018.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.29% to 24,946.51, the S&P 500 added 0.17% to 2,752.01 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was mostly unchanged at 7,481.99.
After a jobs report for February that showed strong payroll gains without overheating wage growth, chatter is building up of a rate hike at the FOMC meeting concluding March 21. If the Fed reads the report as strong evidence toward its 2% inflation goal, policymakers could opt to begin the first of an expected three hikes for 2018. The Fed chose to keep rates steady at a target range of 1.25% to 1.50% in its January 31 announcement.
The large banks wrapped up the week fairly muted. JPMorgan Chase & Co. ticked up 0.17% to $115.44, Bank of America Corp. added 0.19% to $32.17 and Citigroup Inc. gained 0.20% to $73.47. Wells Fargo & Co. lost 1.69% to $55.90 after The Wall Street Journal reported that the federal agencies have expanded their investigations to cover the bank's wealth management unit. The regulators had originally been looking into the company's sales practices in its retail banking unit, but FBI agents were reported to have interviewed wealth management employees in Phoenix.
In notable movers, Bronx, N.Y.-based PDL Community Bancorp (MHC) gained 4.52% to $15.50 while Newark, Ohio-based Park National Corp. added 4.05% to $110.80. Fairmont, W.V.-based MVB Financial Corp. declined 6.74% to $18.00 and Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based OptimumBank Holdings Inc. decreased 4.02% to $5.25.
Shares of Banc of California Inc. declined 3.80% to $20.25 after the Santa Ana, Calif.-based company disclosed that it expects to record a $13.7 million specific loan loss provision due to a $15 million line of credit to a borrower that was fraudulently obtained.
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