New York, Feb 24, 2026, 05:31 EST — Premarket
- Wells Fargo dropped 4% during the last session, tracking a sharp slide across financials.
- The fresh 10% blanket tariff from the U.S. kicked in Tuesday, leaving traders uneasy.
- Consumer confidence numbers land at 10 a.m. ET—traders scanning for any signals on spending or the rate path.
Shares of Wells Fargo & Company slipped 4% to finish at $85.15 on Monday, deepening the slide for major U.S. banks with Wall Street moving out of risk assets before Tuesday’s open.
Why is the slide getting attention now? The focus has shifted from bank headlines to policy uncertainty. U.S. stocks posted broad declines on Monday, with the financial sector tumbling 3.3% as investors grappled with renewed tariff fears and concerns that fresh artificial intelligence technologies might disrupt swaths of the economy.
Tension lingered into Tuesday, with the U.S. slapping a fresh 10% tariff on previously exempt goods—a quick shift after a court decision scrapped earlier duties. Companies now face confusion over prices and when new costs will hit, while traders are left to figure out what it all means for growth and inflation.
Banks are getting squeezed from both directions—rates and credit—thanks to the current macro backdrop. Treasury yields eased back on Monday, with the 10-year note hovering near 4.07% as markets wrestled with the implications of tariffs for economic growth. The drop in yields spells trouble for net interest margin, that crucial gap between what banks collect on loans versus what they pay out to depositors.
Rival firms drew attention as well. On Monday, JPMorgan pointed to higher first-quarter investment banking fees and solid markets revenue, saying deal pipelines should withstand the current chop. “I think a lot of these transactions will survive the volatility and carry on,” said Doug Petno, co-CEO of JPMorgan’s commercial and investment bank. Reuters
Wells Fargo notched a win of its own in wealth management, picking up the Weikes Slattery Group from JPMorgan—advisors handling $3.1 billion in client assets. The goal: more scale in the ultra-high-net-worth segment. “Positions us to provide even greater flexibility, broader investment solutions, and enhanced support,” said Liz Weikes of the move. InvestmentNews
Even so, Monday’s moves pointed to traders playing sectors and yields, rather than making a direct call on Wells Fargo’s short-term prospects. With macro stories setting the tone, banks tend to trade together.
After regulators finally removed Wells Fargo’s asset cap in 2025—a move investors had pegged as crucial for narrowing the distance with rivals—the bank has pushed to get its growth story back on track.
Tariff turbulence could easily spill past just headlines. If confidence or business spending takes a sharper dive, banks might see loan demand dry up and credit losses increase. And if yields slide further, lending profits stay squeezed—regardless of any trading desk windfall from the volatility at competitors.
Later Tuesday, traders get the next data point: The Conference Board will publish its latest U.S. consumer confidence numbers at 10 a.m. ET. Markets track this release closely to assess the pace of household spending.
On top of that, traders are eyeing specifics: the nuts and bolts of the new tariff regime, including exemptions and enforcement details, plus any chatter around possible rate adjustments. Treasury yields will also be in focus once New York trading kicks off.
