Banking jitters weigh on US stock market.

Stocks slumped on Thursday as markets reacted to the latest interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve and pressure on the regional banking sector. Shares of regional bank PacWest tumbled as much as 60% after Bloomberg reported it was considering strategic options including a sale. Other regional banks followed PacWest lower. The KBW regional bank index fell as much as 5% on Thursday, hitting its lowest level since September 2020. The moves came a day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said JPMorgan’s purchase of First Republic on Monday was “an important step toward drawing a line under that period of severe stress."