US stocks end higher in volatile session as traders assess rate outlook and bank concerns

• US stocks were whiplashed on Thursday as investors digested fresh concerns of a US banking crisis.
• The S&P 500 rose as much as 2% before it gave back most of those gains, while the Dow erased nearly all of a 470 point gain.
• Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the US is prepared to take further actions to protect bank deposits if needed.

US stocks suffered severe whiplash on Thursday as investors continued to digest the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate hike and fresh concerns of a US banking crisis.

The Fed hiked interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, representing its 9th consecutive interest rate hike since it started the tightening policy in March 2022, and Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that further interest rate hikes could be necessary.

Meanwhile, concerns of an ongoing US banking crisis were heightened on Thursday after Moody's said there is a risk that the crisis could spillover into the broader economy. 

"There is a risk that policymakers will be unable to curtail the current turmoil without longer-lasting and potentially severe repercussions within and beyond the banking sector," Moody's wrote.

The S&P 500 rose as much as 2% before it gave back most of those gains, while the Dow Jones erased nearly all of an intra-day 470 point gain.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,948.30, up 0.29% 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 32,103.77, up 0.23% (73.66 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 11,787.40, up 1.01%

Here's what else happened today:

• Weekly jobless claims fell 1,000 from the prior week to 191,000, below consensus estimates of 197,000. 
• Bill Ackman warned the US economy is heading for a "train wreck" after the Fed hiked interest rates for the ninth time in a row on Wednesday. Ackman also slammed Janet Yellen's recent comments related to FDIC deposit insurance. 
• Gisele Bündchen said the was "blindsided" by the collapse of FTX last year. Bündchen and her ex-husband, Tom Brady, were top equity investors in the crypto exchange.
• Coinbase stock fell 20% after the company disclosed that it received a Wells notice from the SEC, indicating that it could be sued by the agency for its crypto staking practices.
• Shares of Block plunged 15% after Hindenburg Research said it was shorting the company, arguing that the payments app helps facilitate "frictionless fraud."
• Social media stocks including Snapchat and Meta Platforms jumped after TikTok CEO Shou Chew gave a "disaster" testimony to Congress.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 2.33% to $69.25 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 1.89% to $75.24.
• Gold rose 2.59% to $2,000.00 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank six basis points to 3.39%.
• Bitcoin rose 2.97% to $27,431, while ether jumped 4.30% to $1,816.