Why Did Big Bank Stocks (GS, JPM, BAC) Sink Today?

Several massive investment banks saw their stock prices fall in the first day of trading after the Labor Day weekend on the back of continuing tensions surrounding North Korea.

North Korea

Less than a week after North Korea launched a missile over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, Kim Jong Un’s regime conducted its sixth nuclear test over the weekend. The latest test—this time of a hydrogen bomb—was highly important and could spark even more international retaliation and sanctions.

North Korea said in a televised statement that it considers its weekend test to be a “perfect success in the test of a hydrogen bomb for an ICBM” and that “the creditability of the operation of the nuclear warhead is fully guaranteed.”

President Donald Trump addressed the latest Pyongyang test in a series of responses via Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) .

Sunday

North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

..North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

South Korea is finding, as I have told them, that their talk of appeasement with North Korea will not work, they only understand one thing!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

I will be meeting General Kelly, General Mattis and other military leaders at the White House to discuss North Korea. Thank you.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2017

Tuesday

I am allowing Japan & South Korea to buy a substantially increased amount of highly sophisticated military equipment from the United States.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2017

Response

North Korea then responded harshly on Tuesday to the new warnings in the following statement attributed to the country’s foreign affairs spokesman:

“With the emergence of the Trump administration, the U.S. has become all the more reckless in its attempts to completely obliterate the sovereignty…of the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea), and we were left with no other choice than redoubling our efforts to strengthen the state nuclear force.”

“No one has the right to make a fuss about our test of H-bomb for ICBM,” the spokesman also said. “The U.S. is terribly mistaken if it thinks it can frighten or persuade the DPRK by talking about ‘all options’ on the table and imposing the toughest sanctions and pressure.”

Bank Stocks & Other Movement Tied To North Korea

The continued escalation of tensions sent shares of the global banking powers down across the board on Tuesday. Shares of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) dropped by over 3.25%, while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) stock dipped by more than 2.70%.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) , Citigroup (NYSE:C) , and Barclays PLC (NYSE:C) all saw their stock prices sink by more than 2%. Shares of Bank of America (NYSE:C) fell by more than 3.20%.

The banking industry’s large slip helped to send the S&P 500 down by more than 1%.

The iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund ETF EWY, which tracks South Korean companies, fell by 2.91%. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (HN:VIX) , which measures investor sentiment and market volatility, sunk last week but fought its way back slightly on Tuesday.

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