New York, Jan 5, 2026, 13:24 EST — Regular session
- Bank of America shares rise about 2% as U.S. financial stocks lead Wall Street higher
- Traders rotate into banks ahead of Friday’s U.S. payrolls report and the start of earnings season
- Barclays lifts its price target on BAC; the bank’s quarterly results are due Jan. 14
Bank of America shares rose 2.2% to $57.17 in afternoon trading on Monday, moving with a broad rally in U.S. bank stocks that helped lift Wall Street’s main indexes. 1
The move matters because investors are repositioning early in the year, rotating into financials after a late-2025 tech pullback and ahead of a key run of economic and earnings catalysts. Financials were up about 2.5% on the day, Reuters reported. 1
Banks are sensitive to interest-rate expectations because higher rates can boost the spread between what lenders earn on loans and pay on deposits. Markets are pricing roughly 60 basis points — 0.60 percentage point — of Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026, Reuters said, with attention turning to Friday’s monthly U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. 1
“The mood has been favoring financial stocks in recent days,” said Steve Sosnick, chief market analyst at Interactive Brokers, pointing to a broader risk-on tone. 1
Bank of America touched an intraday high of $57.54, within reach of the stock’s 52-week high of about $57.55, based on widely tracked market data. 2
On the analyst front, Barclays raised its price target on Bank of America to $71 from $59 and reiterated an “Overweight” rating — meaning it recommends holding more of the stock than a benchmark allocation — according to TheFly. 3
The next major company catalyst is Bank of America’s quarterly report. The lender is scheduled to release results for the fourth quarter of 2025 on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at about 6:45 a.m. ET, followed by an investor call at 8:30 a.m. ET, the company said. 4
Investors will be watching net interest income — the difference between interest earned and interest paid — along with expense trends and signs of credit stress as the economy absorbs shifting rate expectations. 4
But the bank rally faces a near-term test: a stronger-than-expected payrolls report could force traders to scale back rate-cut bets, tightening financial conditions and weighing on rate-sensitive sectors. 1
Bank of America was moving broadly in step with peers on Monday, with JPMorgan up about 3.5%, Citigroup up about 4.3% and Wells Fargo up about 1.7%, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund gained about 2.7%.
The next catalysts are Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report and Bank of America’s Jan. 14 earnings release and conference call. 1
