NEW YORK, Jan 30, 2026, 13:01 (EST) — Regular session
- Goldman Sachs shares down about 1% as financials soften
- Traders weigh Trump’s Fed chair pick and what it means for liquidity and rates
- Focus shifts to next week’s earnings rush and the Feb. 6 U.S. jobs report
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) shares fell 0.9% to $931.42 in early afternoon trade on Friday. The stock traded as high as $946.98 and as low as $926.61, on about 750,000 shares. JPMorgan Chase slipped 0.9% and Morgan Stanley lost 0.5%, while the financial sector ETF XLF fell 0.6% and the SPY S&P 500 ETF was down 0.5%.
Investors were also digesting President Donald Trump’s decision on Friday to name former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Jerome Powell when his term ends in May. Lloyds FX strategist Nick Kennedy said Warsh’s record was “more on the hawkish side” and pointed to his preference for a smaller Fed balance sheet — the pile of bonds it holds. “We just have to see whether or not he will be influenced by the White House,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities. (Reuters)
Next week brings a heavy run of corporate earnings and the monthly U.S. jobs report on Feb. 6, both of which can shift bets on interest rates. “For those companies where expectations have become very, very lofty, the onus is going to be on them to deliver,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors. The Federal Reserve this week paused its rate-cutting cycle, putting fresh weight on incoming labor and inflation data. (Reuters)
Goldman, which leans on markets revenue and deal fees more than deposit-taking lenders, tends to move with swings in risk appetite. When rate policy turns uncertain, clients often pull back, and even small shifts can echo through trading volumes.
Warsh has talked up shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet, a move traders read as reduced liquidity for stocks and credit. That can hit banks two ways: less underwriting and M&A, and rougher trading days that sometimes help market-makers but hurt valuations.
In a prospectus supplement filed on Friday, Goldman said it was issuing $7 million of 5.25% callable fixed-rate notes due 2041, with the option to redeem them starting in mid-2028. “Callable” means the bank can pay the debt back early, typically if funding costs fall. The filing listed no exchange listing for the notes. (SEC)
Goldman’s prime brokerage desk said in a Jan. 29 note that gross leverage — the size of long and short positions relative to capital — rose for a third straight year and finished 2025 at a record for its hedge fund book. It said the “Magnificent 7” accounted for about 19% of total U.S. net exposure, a sign that positioning remains concentrated. (Marquee)
But the setup cuts both ways. A messy confirmation fight, or a sharp surprise in next week’s jobs or inflation data, could whip yields and hit financial stocks hard.
For Goldman, the next clean catalyst is that Feb. 6 payrolls report, followed by another round of megacap earnings that could reset the tone across markets. Traders will be watching whether volatility turns into opportunity — or a warning.
