NEW YORK, February 6, 2026, 14:58 EST — Regular session
Shares of Bank of America Corp rose roughly 3% Friday afternoon, picking up momentum with other U.S. bank stocks as investors got back into risk after a tough week. At 2:42 p.m. EST, the stock was higher by $1.65, trading at $56.59.
Stocks bounced, breaking a three-day losing streak for Wall Street and sending the Dow above 50,000 for the first time. Gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq followed, with chipmakers climbing after renewed talk on big-tech spending stirred up the sector.
What’s moving the needle for lenders right now? It’s rates, front and center—plus whatever expectations the market is baking in about the Fed’s appetite to keep pressure on with inflation still running above target. Early February saw a modest uptick in U.S. consumer sentiment, though worries about the job market stuck around. “We may have seen the trough in consumer sentiment,” Nationwide financial markets economist Oren Klachkin said. Reuters
Timing’s been tricky. With the January U.S. payrolls data delayed due to the government shutdown, traders have had to rely on less substantial cues while recalibrating expectations for the Fed’s trajectory. According to Reuters, futures markets suddenly assigned a much greater probability to a March quarter-point cut compared with just a day before.
JPMorgan Chase tacked on close to 4%. Wells Fargo advanced approximately 3%. Citigroup? Up about 5%. Other money-center banks followed suit.
Bank of America, for its part, made an announcement late Thursday: the bank plans to redeem every outstanding share of its Series DD preferred stock, as well as the associated depositary shares, on March 10. Holders will get $1,000 per depositary share. The Series DD stock ranks above common shares and pays out dividends.
Bank of America is making a bigger play in credit cards, investing “hundreds of millions of dollars” into the business, according to Mary Hines Droesch, the bank’s head of consumer and small-business products and analytics. Updates to its rewards program are on deck for later this month, she said in an interview with Banking Dive. Banking Dive
The group isn’t letting politics fade into the background. Major U.S. banks have ramped up lobbying budgets in 2025, with Washington scrutinizing capital requirements, crypto regulation, and consumer proposals like the possible cap on credit card rates. Ed Mills, policy analyst at Raymond James, said the aim is to be “fully at the table.” Reuters
The real worry for BAC and rivals? Fresh labor or inflation numbers could upend rate bets again. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly called the outlook “precarious.” Now, all eyes are on the delayed jobs report—key for both policymakers and investors. Reuters
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has pushed the January Employment Situation report to Wednesday, Feb. 11, 8:30 a.m. ET. January CPI lands two days later—Friday, Feb. 13, same time. Both data drops have the potential to jolt Treasury yields and, by extension, Bank of America shares.
