New York, Feb 15, 2026, 15:45 (EST) — Markets have wrapped up for the day.
Morgan Stanley (MS) ended the day at $171.15, up $3.09, or 1.8%, after some late action on Friday. The stock ranged from $163.73 to $171.75, with roughly 9.2 million shares changing hands. JPMorgan finished nearly unchanged, Wells Fargo ticked up around 0.8%, and Goldman Sachs held steady.
Banks are back to watching rates. The latest inflation numbers forced investors to rethink their Fed cut bets, with the sector moving in step with Treasury yields.
Morgan Stanley finds itself right in the thick of things. The firm’s trading arm tends to see upside when markets heat up, though wild price swings sometimes spook clients and put deal flow on ice if risk appetite dries up.
U.S. consumer prices edged up 2.4% year over year in January, Friday’s data showed, just under the 2.5% forecast from economists surveyed by Reuters. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped 5.6 basis points to 4.048%. The Fed, for its part, kept its key policy rate in the 3.50%-3.75% band last month. “Either way, it is a bit of good news as we head into the long holiday weekend,” said Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion. Reuters
Morgan Stanley announced Friday it will pay regular dividends on several preferred stock series, according to the firm. The payments are set for March 16 and April 15.
Morgan Stanley turned in its quarterly Form 13F on Feb. 13, logging holdings as of Dec. 31. The filing’s summary page tallied 45,420 line items, with the information-table value landing near $1.675 trillion. The document also referenced 24 additional reporting managers.
Form 13F filings offer a look back at select U.S.-listed equity and options holdings that big money managers are required to disclose every quarter. While the filings reveal some broader positioning, they leave out activity within the quarter as well as other asset classes.
The rate narrative can shift on a dime. A fresh jump in inflation or a hawkish Fed tone—either one could push yields higher. Bank stocks, for their part, tend to falter when markets swing to defense.
U.S. markets take a break for Presidents Day on Monday, but the tempo picks up Tuesday, Feb. 17. Investors have their eyes on the Fed’s January meeting minutes, which land Wednesday, and the all-important Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index dropping Friday, Feb. 20 — the inflation number the Fed watches closest.
