Drama in the bank sector is heating back up, even after a group of finance peers agreed to help bailout embattled First Republic Bank (FRC). The struggles have weighed particularly hard on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), which was last seen 362 points lower and heading for its second-straight weekly loss. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) and S&P 500 Index (SPX) are on track for modest weekly wins, though they're lower for the session.

Call traders are flocking towards Baidu Inc (Nasdaq: BIDU), after the company revealed what could be China's biggest competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. While Baidu's reveal of Ernie bot failed to impress investors yesterday, the shares are on the mend -- last seen up 3.2% to trade at $142.65 and heading for a substantial weekly win -- after users shared their experiences with the software. At the session's halfway point, more than 18,000 bullish bets have been exchanged, which is double the amount typically seen at this point. The most popular contract, the March 145 call, is seeing new positions being opened. 

U.S-listed shares of China-based electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng Inc - ADR (NYSE: XPEV) are trading near the top of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), after the company reassured its sales growth will resume. The shares were last seen 10% higher to trade at $9.18, even after missing fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations. Year-over-year, Xpeng stock is still 63.2% lower.

Sunnova Energy International Inc (NYSE: NOVA) is trading near the bottom of the NYSE, after RBC cut its price target to $31 from $39 following news that the company secured a $50 million revolving loan. The solar energy stock is down 10.4% at last glance, last seen trading at $13.17 and adding to a 47% year-over-year deficit.

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