U.S. stocks were falling as bank worries flare up again

By Liz Moyer 

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were falling on Friday as investor fears about the banking system flared up again.

At 10:46 ET (14:46 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 206 points or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.6%.

Deutsche Bank was a focus on Friday after its credit default swaps rose to a four-year high, triggering stock drops among major banks. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shares were down over 2% and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) fell 2.8%, while Deutsche Bank's (NYSE:DB) shares were down 7.9%.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress on Thursday that officials were prepared to do more to make sure bank deposits are safe, but that hasn't calmed fears about a liquidity challenge that could end up curtailing lending.

Futures traders are now expecting the Federal Reserve to pause interest rate hikes in May.

Orders for durable goods fell 1% last month versus expectations of a 0.6% rise. But manufacturing PMI came in at 49.3, better than expected, and services PMI came in at 53.8, also better than expected.

Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATVI) shares were up 5% after the UK competition regulator narrowed the scope of its antitrust investigation in the Microsoft-Activision deal.

Oil fell. Crude Oil WTI Futures was down 2.2% to $68.46 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude was down 2% to $74.33 a barrel. Gold Futures was up 0.1% to $1999.