Data on US consumer price increases in December was broadly in line with forecasts, reinforcing traders’ bets on rate cuts this year. Headline and core CPI each rose 2.6% from a year earlier, the same pace as in November.
JPMorgan shares were down about 4%. A drop in investment banking fees overshadowed the company’s better-than-expected quarterly profit.
In addition, JPMorgan Chase CFO Jeremy Barnum said the bank believes that a proposed cap on credit card interest rates will adversely impact US consumers and the economy, reviving a recent selloff in some financials over US President Donald Trump’s proposed one-year cap of 10% on credit card interest rates. Shares of Visa and Mastercard fell.
The S&P 500 banking index was down about 2.5%, while the financial sector was down 1.8%. Other big banks, due to report their quarterly numbers later this week, were also lower even as analysts expected most banks to post stronger results for the last quarter.
Delta Air shares also were lower as the midpoint of its 2026 profit forecast fell short of analysts’ expectations.
The day’s declines most likely reflect “a little bit of letting the air out of the balloon,” after recent record highs, said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president, adviser for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut.
Earnings news overall will most likely be positive, he said, adding, “I suspect there are going to be some upward revisions.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 368.33 points, or 0.74%, to 49,222.38, the S&P 500 lost 26.82 points, or 0.38%, to 6,950.52 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 92.00 points, or 0.39%, to 23,641.91.
Investors have largely brushed off geopolitical flashpoints, from Washington’s saber-rattling in Iran to developments in Greenland and Venezuela.
They are also pricing in at least two more 25-basis-point interest rate cuts between June and December, with a small chance of a third, according to LSEG data.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.25-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 512 new highs and 69 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,037 stocks rose and 2,601 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.28-to-1 ratio.