New York, February 10, 2026, 12:00 EST — Regular session
- Mastercard climbed roughly 1.4% in midday action, bouncing back after dropping on Monday.
- Treasury yields slipped after U.S. December retail-sales data landed flat, leaving bets on interest rate cuts intact.
- Mastercard teamed up with Bosta on an e-commerce logistics push in Egypt, aiming at small businesses.
Mastercard (MA.N) climbed roughly 1.4% to $542.87 by late morning Tuesday, after shares swung from $533.50 to $546.84 earlier in the session.
Card-network stocks like Mastercard end up as a barometer for consumer spending—they tick higher or lower depending on what people are charging to plastic. Mastercard earns its cut every time someone swipes, which keeps traders glued to spending stats and shifts in the rate outlook that can swing risk appetite.
Mastercard dropped 2.44% Monday, marking a third consecutive day in the red, and the stock is still trading roughly 11% under its 52-week peak. Shares lagged behind, while the wider market closed up. 1
December brought no change in U.S. retail sales, the Commerce Department reported, following November’s 0.6% climb. Analysts were looking for a 0.4% gain. “Overall, signs of earlier consumer strength may be starting to falter,” said Thomas Ryan, North America economist at Capital Economics. The “core” gauge linked to GDP spending slipped 0.1%. 2
Stocks hovered close to all-time highs as Treasury yields retreated following the sales figures. Traders upped their wagers on several Fed rate cuts this year. The 10-year yield dropped to around 4.13% from 4.22%. The Dow rose about 0.4%, and the S&P 500 nudged up as well. 3
Payments stocks also gained. Visa (V.N) climbed roughly 1.0%, while American Express (AXP.N) tacked on around 1.8% over the same period.
Mastercard is teaming up with Bosta, the Egyptian e-commerce logistics provider, to roll out new tools for small and mid-sized businesses. The two plan to launch a discount program for Mastercard Business cardholders using Bosta’s logistics services. “SMEs play a central role in building resilient, future-ready economies,” said Mohamed Assem, Mastercard’s country manager for Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria. 4
Europe still hasn’t closed the book on this one. On Tuesday, EU lawmakers threw their support behind a digital euro plan designed to pare back dependence on outside payment giants like Visa and Mastercard. A launch in 2029 hinges on getting the legislative green light. “These votes are a big win for the progress of the digital euro,” said Laura Casonato at Positive Money Europe. 5
The risk is hard to ignore: softer goods spending could spill over, dragging down overall demand and slowing transaction growth in a hurry. Elsewhere, top European bankers are raising the alarm, calling for “urgent” alternatives to Visa and Mastercard—a sign of mounting political scrutiny over payment infrastructures and fees. 6
All eyes now turn to Wednesday’s U.S. jobs numbers. Analysts are bracing for a gain of roughly 55,000 jobs in January, with unemployment steady at 4.4%. The timing couldn’t be sharper—the release lands squarely amid fresh questions about consumer resilience, a conversation reignited by the latest retail sales data. 7
