A Rough Start to U.S. Earnings Season! Dow Plunges Nearly 400 Points as Bank Stocks Become the Biggest Drag
1/15/2026
Folks, the mood on Wall Street flipped overnight. After a relentless rally that pushed U.S. stocks to fresh record highs, the market suddenly pulled back, throwing a bucket of cold water on the red-hot momentum.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the sell-off, plunging 398 points, or 0.8%. The main culprit behind the drop? Weakness in bank stocks right at the start of earnings season.
The most notable example was banking giant JPMorgan Chase. Despite delivering results that met expectations, its share price fell more than 4%, dragging the entire banking sector down with it. What spooked the market wasn’t the earnings themselves, but a proposal by former President Donald Trump to impose a cap on credit card interest rates.
Credit cards are a major profit engine for banks. If such a policy were implemented, it could severely squeeze bank profitability — effectively cutting off a key revenue lifeline. No wonder investors rushed for the exits, casting a heavy shadow over the opening of the U.S. earnings season.
Asia-Pacific Markets Buck the Trend, Showing Impressive Resilience
Interestingly, while U.S. stocks struggled, Asia-Pacific markets charted their own path, showing remarkable resilience.
Japan’s Nikkei index led the charge, surging more than 3% in a powerful rally.
Markets in South Korea, Vietnam, and elsewhere also joined the move higher, with gains of over 1%.
Completely unfazed by Wall Street’s weakness, the region’s strong performance highlighted just how resilient and independent Asian markets have been in this latest bout of global volatility — an impressive showing indeed.
