New York, Feb 12, 2026, 15:41 EST — Regular session.
- Wells Fargo shares fell in afternoon trading as U.S. financial stocks weakened.
- Traders positioned for Friday’s inflation data after a strong jobs report reshaped rate-cut bets.
- Wells Fargo management this week pointed to loan growth in cards and autos, with credit holding up.
Wells Fargo & Company shares fell 2.7% to $86.53 in afternoon trading on Thursday, underperforming the broader market. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund was down 1.5% and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF was off 1.2%.
The drop came as investors lined up for Friday’s U.S. consumer price index report after a stronger-than-expected jobs report on Wednesday pushed back expectations for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to about 4.106%, and “the bull case on the Fed cutting … was challenged,” said Jay Hatfield, CEO and CIO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors in New York. (Reuters)
Wells Fargo has tried to keep the focus on balance-sheet growth. Chief Financial Officer Mike Santomassimo told a UBS conference on Tuesday the bank expects loans to grow this year, leaning on credit cards and autos, and said, “On the card side, we’re seeing good growth there.” He also pointed to momentum tied to Wells Fargo’s preferred financing partnership with Volkswagen and Audi, and said, “Credit performance is still very good,” while mortgages are expected to be relatively flat. (Reuters)
The selloff hit other large lenders too. JPMorgan Chase fell 2.5%, Bank of America slipped 2.1%, and Citigroup dropped 4.8%.
Wells Fargo closed down 3.22% at $88.95 on Wednesday and was about 9% below its 52-week high hit on Jan. 5, MarketWatch data showed. About 15.4 million shares traded, slightly above its 50-day average. (MarketWatch)
But the rate story can still break against banks fast. A hotter CPI print could harden “higher-for-longer” thinking and add to funding-cost and credit worries, while a cooler number could pull yields down and squeeze margins.
Wells Fargo’s investment bank also stayed in the mix on large deals. It and Barclays advised Schroders on its agreed 9.9 billion pound ($13.5 billion) sale to Nuveen, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
For WFC, the next few sessions are likely to hinge on the same inputs traders have been trading all month: inflation, yields and how far the market pushes out the first Fed cut.
The immediate catalyst is the January CPI report, due at 8:30 a.m. EST on Friday, which could reset rate-cut pricing and steer bank shares into next week. (Bls)
