US close: Financials lead stocks lower after inflation data, earnings underwhelm

13th Jan 2026 21:32

(Sharecast News) - Financial stocks dragged Wall Street indices lower on Tuesday as sticky inflation data and an underwhelming start to fourth-quarter earnings season prompted investors to book profits following recent gains.

The Dow and S&P 500 finished 0.8% and 0.2% lower, pulling back from their respective record highs on Tuesday, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.1% from a two-month high.

Axel Rudolph, senior technical analyst at IG, attributed Tuesday's declines to "investor fatigue" with a number of global benchmarks currently trading at or close to record highs. "It was bound to happen at some stage, giving the strong start to the year," he said.

Data released before the opening bell showed that the annual rate of consumer price inflation held steady at 2.7% in December, matching analysts' estimates, while core inflation unexpectedly eased to 2.6% from 2.7%. However, that wasn't enough to change market projections for interest-rate policy in the near term.

"Today's CPI is positive for the Fed's mandate, but labour market data stabilising in December allows the FOMC to remain patient and pause cuts in January," said analysts at TD Securities in a note.

"Concerns over tariffs and data collection will likely keep the hawks on guard; however, we believe further softening in the labor market will be enough for the Fed to restart cuts in March. If inflation continues to print in line with December, that would also lower the bar for further cuts in the near-term.

The release comes amid heightened tensions between Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve as the US president continues to call for lower interest rates to spur economic growth. The Fed, however, has shown caution on the back of consistent price pressures.

These tensions escalated this weekend after the Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation into Fed chair Jerome Powell regarding comments made to Congress about renovation cost over-runs at the Fed's headquarters. Powell accused the government of attempting to disrupt central bank independence through "political pressure or intimidation".

In other macro news, US new home sales came in at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 737,000 in October, just 0.1% below the September rate of 738,000, which was the highest since May 2023. However, that was comfortably ahead of the consensus forecast of 710,000 and 18.7% above levels seen in October 2024.

However, the median sales price for new houses sold was $392,300 in October, down 3.3% on the $405,800 price tag in September and 8% below the same month the year before.

JPMorgan, Delta fall after results

The start of earnings season got off to a negative start, with heavyweights JPMorgan Chase & Co and Delta Airlines falling following their quarterly numbers.

JPMorgan shares were 4% lower despite profits coming in ahead of expectations, though net income still fell to $13bn from $14bn previously. Revenues rose 7% year-on-year to $45.8bn, supported by a 17% surge in markets revenues, though analysts were seemingly focusing on a bigger-than-expected 5% decline in investment banking fees.

Others in the sector, including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo & Co also fell.

Bank of New York Mellon bucked the trend, however, after lifting its profit targets following a stronger-than-expected fourth quarter. The bank said it now expects a return on tangible common equity of about 28% in the medium term, up from previous guidance of 23%. It also lifted its medium-term target for pre-tax margin by 5 percentage points to 38%.

Delta fell 2% after underwhelming the market with record revenues of $58.3bn last year as premium traveller growth outpaced sales of economy tickets. The company, however, forecast adjusted earnings per share of between $6.50 and $7.50 this year, which at the midpoint missed the consensus estimate of $7.25.

Heavyweights Visa and Amex continued to decline after Trump's call the previous day for a one-year 10% cap on credit card interest rates, claiming the move could save Americans tens of billions of dollars. Trump pledged to "no longer let the American public be 'ripped off' by credit card companies" - though critics of the measure have said that card issuers would be forced to tighten access to credit, causing more hardship for consumers.

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.29 7.33%

Boeing Co. (BA) $244.55 1.98%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $213.65 1.87%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $379.74 1.28%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $636.53 1.07%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.24 1.05%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $66.27 1.01%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $163.87 0.94%

3M Co. (MMM) $169.42 0.88%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $309.44 0.88%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $241.06 -7.07%

Visa Inc. (V) $327.88 -4.46%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $310.90 -4.19%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $271.20 -3.31%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $303.16 -2.89%

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.01 -2.08%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $333.93 -1.93%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $938.15 -1.20%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $108.26 -0.85%

American Express Co. (AXP) $358.00 -0.44%

S&P 500 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.29 7.33%

Revvity, Inc. (RVTY) $110.14 6.02%

Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $129.93 5.27%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $176.88 4.46%

Carmax Inc. (KMX) $46.45 3.91%

Kohls Corp. (KSS) $20.48 3.75%

Apache Corp. (APA) $25.73 3.25%

Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $36.84 3.14%

Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $92.13 2.94%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $299.97 2.90%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $241.06 -7.07%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $309.93 -5.41%

Progressive Corp. (PGR) $205.06 -5.28%

Allstate Corp (The) (ALL) $197.65 -5.28%

DaVita Inc (DVA) $104.47 -5.11%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $605.00 -4.79%

Visa Inc. (V) $327.88 -4.46%

Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $103.90 -4.29%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $197.89 -4.25%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $310.90 -4.19%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $47.29 7.33%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $299.97 2.90%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $42.41 1.70%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $335.97 1.24%

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $78.43 1.20%

eBay Inc. (EBAY) $94.37 1.15%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $336.43 1.11%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $90.32 1.02%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $146.96 0.97%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,441.82 0.96%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $309.93 -5.41%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $605.00 -4.79%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $55.20 -4.35%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $197.89 -4.25%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $75.68 -4.15%

Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $511.80 -4.05%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $199.55 -4.02%

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $189.67 -3.97%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $178.30 -3.95%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,073.57 -3.55%