New York, February 15, 2026, 14:28 (EST) — Market’s done for the day.
- Mastercard dropped 1.73% on Friday, closing at $518.36. That marked the third straight session of losses for the stock.
- Visa dropped harder, but the broader U.S. market ended the day mostly flat
- U.S. stock markets will stay closed Monday for Presidents Day. Trading picks back up on Tuesday.
Shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) slipped 1.73% to $518.36 on Friday, capping off a three-day slide and lagging behind a largely flat U.S. market. Trading volume surpassed the 50-day average. The stock wrapped up the session sitting roughly 14% below its 52-week high, according to MarketWatch. (MarketWatch)
The calendar’s key here: U.S. exchanges will go dark Monday for Washington’s Birthday, or Presidents Day, leaving Wall Street with an extra-long weekend. That pushes the next cash session out until Tuesday—raising the odds for thinner liquidity and possibly bigger price swings when markets snap back. (New York Stock Exchange)
MA’s recent slide is turning attention squarely to the next data on rates and consumer spending—key signals that can quickly move card volumes. Now, investors are weighing whether Friday’s drop was something unique to the stock or just another dip across payments stocks.
The S&P 500 eked out a 0.05% gain Friday, with the Dow rising 0.10%. The Nasdaq dropped 0.22%. Earlier, stocks had shown some strength after January U.S. inflation figures landed softer than anticipated—enough to push up bets on a June rate cut. But heading into the three-day weekend, caution took hold. “Any whiff of optimism” was being snuffed out, said Michael James at Rosenblatt Securities. (Reuters)
Shares of Mastercard kicked off Friday’s session at $529.06, before swinging between $533.99 at the top and $516.02 at the low, and finally settling at $518.36, Yahoo Finance data showed. (Yahoo Finance)
Other payments stocks took a bigger hit. Visa slid 3.12% Friday, while American Express lost roughly 1.6%, weighing down the payments and credit card space even as the main indexes stayed steady. (MarketWatch)
Fees are never far from investors’ minds. Visa and Mastercard floated a new $38 billion settlement with merchants last year to address interchange, or “swipe,” fees—the costs retailers shoulder every time a customer swipes a card. Any change in how much control the networks have over pricing still hangs over the sector. (Reuters)
This arrangement can reverse in a hurry. Should rate-cut odds fade, high-multiple stocks are likely to feel it first. On the other hand, weaker consumer demand may dent transaction growth and cross-border spending ahead of showing up in overall earnings.
Once the market reopens, eyes will be on MA to see if it can hold above Friday’s $516 low. Traders are also watching if the sector’s lag starts to close. The next scheduled highlight lands Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve releases minutes from its January 27–28 policy meeting — a document that’s often dissected for hints about future rate moves. (Federal Reserve)
