NEW YORK, January 2, 2026, 13:55 ET — Regular session
- Wells Fargo shares were up about 1.2% in early afternoon trading.
- Bank stocks were mixed, with the bank ETF higher while the broader financial sector slipped.
- Investors are watching the Jan. 9 U.S. jobs report and Wells Fargo’s Jan. 14 earnings next.
Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) shares rose 1.2% to $94.35 in early afternoon trading on Friday, after swinging between $92.81 and $94.43.
The move comes as investors head into the first full trading week of 2026 with the U.S. jobs report due Jan. 9 and consumer price data on Jan. 13, the same day JPMorgan is set to open the big-bank earnings season. The Fed cut rates at each of its last three meetings of 2025, and fed funds futures — derivatives that track where traders see policy rates — suggest little chance of another cut at the late-January meeting but nearly a 50% chance of a quarter-point reduction in March. “The market is looking for direction,” said Matthew Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak. Reuters
That rate backdrop matters for Wells Fargo and other lenders because it influences net interest margin — the spread between what banks earn on loans and pay on deposits — and can also change credit demand as borrowing costs move.
In the sector, the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) was up about 0.3%, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) was down about 0.3%. Shares of peers JPMorgan (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) were modestly higher, while Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS) also traded up.
The broader market was little changed after early gains faded, with investors keeping an eye on the path for U.S. interest rates and other policy risks as 2026 begins.
Wells Fargo has said it plans to report fourth-quarter 2025 results on Jan. 14.
For Wells Fargo’s report, investors are likely to focus on net interest income, expense discipline and credit costs, along with any signal on loan growth as the economy slows and rate cuts remain on the table.
Technically, the stock ended 2025 at $93.20, about 2.8% below its 52-week high of $95.85 set on Dec. 24, MarketWatch data showed. Traders are watching whether the shares can push back through that recent peak and hold the late-December range as support.
Wells Fargo’s longer-term story has also been shaped by regulators lifting the bank’s $1.95 trillion asset cap in June 2025, a key constraint that had limited balance-sheet growth after the lender’s sales-practices scandal.
Beyond earnings, Wells Fargo’s investor events calendar lists a presentation at the UBS Financial Services Conference on Feb. 10, an appearance that can bring fresh color on costs, credit and rate sensitivity.
