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Markets took a downward turn after a strong open today, edging lower through the afternoon but ultimately off session lows. The AI trade and strong Q3 earnings reports looked to be enough to placate market participants today, but a $50 million wrinkle at a regional bank was enough for traders to start questioning the bull market.

The Dow closed -301 points today, -0.65%, while the S&P 500 was off a similar -0.63%, and the Nasdaq -0.47%. The small-cap Russell 2000, which had led market indexes in the previous two trading sessions, fell -52 points, -2.09%. Bond yields are shrinking, as well: +3.98% on the 10-year and +3.42% 2-year.

Zions Bancorp Reports $50M Loan Default
 

Markets took a hit today partly due to news that a bank loan default worth $50 million befell regional bank Zions Bancorp (ZION - Free Report). The news didn’t just hit Zions, which is -13% today, but regional banks as a whole. Turmoil at regional banks raise concerns about weakness in the overall economy when bank loans get defaulted. That’s reason enough to take index levels off all-time highs, like we saw in the Russell 2000, which happens to be home to many regional banks.

CSX Misses on Q3 Report
 

Railroad major CSX (CSX - Free Report) posted lower-than-expected results in its Q3 earnings report after today’s closing bell. Earnings of 37 cents per share were beneath the 42 cents in the Zacks consensus (although excluding a one-time charge that number would have been 44 cents per share, a 2-cent beat). Revenues of $3.59 billion were a smidge below the $3.60 billion analysts were expecting.

The rail company saw good volume levels overall — +2% quarter over quarter — but weakness in pricing on shipments like export coal prices weighed on the quarterly performance. Shares are up +2.8% in late trading on the news, adding to its +11.5% gains year to date. The company had brought a Zacks Ranks #4 (Sell) to its earnings call today.

What to Expect from the Stock Market Friday
 

Zilch. Well, we will see earnings reports before the open from companies like American Express (AXP - Free Report), State Street (STT - Free Report), and SLB (SLB - Free Report) — formerly Schlumberger. But among the economic reports we will not see tomorrow are Housing Starts, Building Permits, Imports & Exports, Industrial Production, and Capacity Utilization. This, of course, is due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

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