Wall Street stuck in the red at midday as bank stocks stall

12:35pm: Dow recovers but not enough to turn positive The Dow was down 18 points to 33,055, approaching the flatline after being down more than 120 points in the morning. The Nasdaq Composite lost 118 points, 0.9%, to 13,021, and the S&P 500 fell 14 points, 0.4%, to 3,961. "Banking stocks in the US have lagged on concerns that the sector could be hit hard after hedge fund Archegos Capital were forced to sell huge positions in US and China stocks," IG Senior Market Analyst Joshua Mahony wrote Monday. "While Nomura and Credit Suisse warned of heavy losses in response to this crisis, Morgan Stanley’s disclosure that they also sold billions of shares sparked a widespread move out of banks... However, today’s decline in banking stocks does provide a potential opportunity for some, with the pro-cyclical nature of the sector meaning that we are likely to see outperformance for financials as economic data, rates, and yields rise." Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) shares dropped more than 1% to $38.26, and Morgan Stanley fell 2.5% to $78.00. 10:20am: Proactive North America headlines: First Cobalt Corp (CVE:FCC) (OTCQX:FTSSF) (FRA:18P) strikes milestone offtake deal with London-based cobalt trader over future Ontario refinery production Marble Financial Inc (CSE:MRBL) (OTCMKTS:MRBLF) (FRA:2V0) closes non-brokered private placement Great Bear Resources Ltd (CVE:GBR) (OTCMKTS:GTBAF) (FRA:0G6A) doubles vertical extent of LP Fault target at Dixie with latest holes ImagineAR Inc (CSE:IP) (OTCQB:IPNFF) (FRA:GMS1) inks partnership with Brazilian soccer team to provide interactive AR experiences for fans Mind Medicine Inc (MindMed) (NEO:MMED), (OTCQB:MMEDF), (FRA:MMQ) appoints Stanford University neuroscientist as chair of scientific advisory board Victory Resources Corporation (CSE:VR) (OTCMKTS:VRCFF) (FRA:VR62) hires resource industry veteran Mark Ireton as its new CEO Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd (CVE:MTA) (NYSEAMERICAN:MTA) (FRA:X9C) added another 18 royalties to its portfolio in 2020, with five more so far this year Loop Insights Inc (CVE:MTRX) (OTCQB:RACMF) inks $2M deal to acquire German digital wallet operator Passcreator inks $2M deal to acquire German digital wallet operator Passcreator Orgenesis Inc (NASDAQ:ORGS) (FRA:45O)  to collaboration with Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital in Rome on new therapy centre Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc (NASDAQ:PESI) (FRA:PFX1) sees 4Q revenue grow by 28% on continued strength from its Services segment 9:40am: Wall Street starts in the red The market in New York got off to a slower start on Monday as the fallout from last Friday’s fire sale hit US traders. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.29% at 32,977 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.35% to 3,960 and the Nasdaq fell 0.31% to 13,097. Last week’s margin call from a hedge fund has forced a number of major banks such as Credit Suisse and Nomura to unwind their positions, pushing stocks lower. However, there was some good news for the markets after reports emerged that the container ship that blocked the Suez Canal last week has finally been freed six after grounding itself across the key global trade artery. 7:40am: Wall Street to start mostly lower The main Wall Street indices are expected to open mostly in the red on Monday after a fire sale on Friday piled pressure on markets at the start of the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 is expected to open little changed but the Dow Jones Industrial Average is tipped to fall 109 points to 32,964 and the S&P 500 is expected to ease 11 points to 3,964. “Banks are under pressure in Europe. Credit Suisse dropped 10% after warning it could suffer a significant hit to profits as it starts to unwind positions after a hedge-backed [sic] client defaulted on a margin call. The forced unwinding of positions also hit Japanese bank Nomura, which tumbled 16%, in its biggest sell-off on record,” said OANDA’s Sophie Griffiths. “Investors are bracing themselves for more volatility in the US when markets open after a USD20 billion fire sale on Friday, triggered by Archegos. The firm has concentrated holdings in Viacom and Baidu, whose shares have been under pressure in recent weeks. These developments certainly raise questions surrounding the rise of margin debt and over leveraging,” she added. There is little in the way of macroeconomic data due out in the US; everything is just a warm-up act for Friday’s non-farm payrolls release. Four things to watch for on Monday: The earnings diary will see results from egg producer Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) as well as biotechs Vaxcyte Inc (NASDAQ:PCVX) and Matinas BioPharma Holdings Inc (NYSEAMERICAN:MTNB) Shares in Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME) will be in focus after the Chinese music streaming firm announced plans for a US$1bn share buyback overnight White goods maker Whirlpool Corp (NYSE:WHR) may also attract attention after the president of its Chinese arm, Jason Ai, told Reuters that a global shortage of computer chips was leaving appliance makers unable to meet global demand On the macro front, investors will be eyeing the Dallas Fed manufacturing index for March