US stocks climb as banking fears ease and investors focus on key Fed meeting

• US stocks rose on Monday as banking crisis fears subsided and regional bank stocks rebounded.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the government could protect deposits at smaller banks.
• Investors also looked to the Fed meeting, expecting a key policy decision on Wednesday.

US stocks rose on Tuesday as banking fears eased and investors turned their attention to the Federal Open Markets Committee meeting.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the government is ready to protect deposits in smaller banks whose collapse could “pose the risk of contagion.”

Regional bank stocks continued to recover after her remarks were reported. First Republic Bank, which fell 47% to a record low on Monday, jumped 26% on Tuesday morning, and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking exchange traded fund moved higher 5%.

Meanwhile, Fed policymakers begin their two-day meeting on Tuesday, and markets are pricing in an 82% chance the they raise interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,993.12, up 1.05%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,548.85, up 0.94% (304.27 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 11,793.41, up 1.01%

Here’s what else is happening today:

• The economy is headed for a hard landing, as the banking crisis is making a recession more likely, according to JPMorgan’s quant guru.
• Bill Ackman warned that the banking crisis wasn’t over yet, and the Fed should pull back in its inflation fight.
• Elon Musk also urged the Fed to reverse course on rate hikes, as the banking crisis is posing a serious threat to the economy.
• Tesla debt is no longer junk-rated after Moody’s upgraded Elon Musk’s company.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil moved higher 1.05% to $68.35 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, rose 0.98% to $74.51.
• Gold dipped 0.67% to $1,965.10 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped 10 basis points to 3.585%.
• Bitcoin slipped 0.3% to $28,083.93, while ether jumped 1.99% to $1,814.58.