Wall Street pulls back from its records as JPMorgan Chase and Delta kick
off earnings season
[January 14, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street pulled back from its records on Tuesday
following a mixed start to the latest profit reporting season for big
U.S. companies.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% from its all-time high set the day before. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average dropped 398 points, or 0.8%, from its own
record, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%.
U.S. companies are under pressure to deliver strong growth in profits to
justify the runs to records their stock prices have made. Analysts
expect companies in the S&P 500 index will deliver earnings per share
for the final three months of 2025 that are 8.3% higher than a year
earlier, according to FactSet.
JPMorgan Chase helped kick off the latest reporting season by delivering
weaker profit and revenue than analysts expected. Its stock fell 4.2%
and was one of the heaviest weights on the market.
The shortfall may have been because some analysts hadn’t updated their
estimates to account for an earnings hit resulting from the bank’s
purchase of the Apple Card credit card portfolio. CEO Jamie Dimon
sounded relatively optimistic about the U.S. economy, saying “consumers
continue to spend, and businesses generally remain healthy.”
Delta Air Lines lost 2.4% despite reporting a stronger profit than
analysts expected. Its revenue came up short of Wall Street’s
expectations, as did the midpoint of its forecasted range for profit in
2026.
Chipotle Mexican Grill sank 2.3% after saying it’s looking for a new
chief marketing officer, a move that surprised analysts.
On the winning side of Wall Street were several health care companies
that raised their financial forecasts at an industry conference with
analysts.
Moderna jumped 17.1% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500 after saying it
expects to report revenue for 2025 that’s above the midpoint of the
range it had forecast in November. It also offered updates on several
products, including a seasonal flu vaccine that could see potential
approvals beginning later this year.
Revvity rose 6% after the life sciences company said it expects to
report profit for 2025 that’s above the top end of the forecasted range
it had earlier given. Its forecast for revenue in the fourth quarter
also topped analysts’ expectations.
Cardinal Health added 2.8% after saying it expects to earn at least $10
in adjusted earnings per share in its fiscal 2026 year, up from its
prior forecasted range of $9.65 to $9.85.
All told, the S&P 500 fell 13.53 points to 6,963.74. The Dow Jones
Industrial Average dropped 398.21 to 49,191.99, and the Nasdaq composite
sank 24.03 to 23,709.87.
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Trader Robert Finnerty Jr., foreground, works with colleagues on the
floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP
Photo/Richard Drew)
 In the bond market, Treasury yields
eased after a highly anticipated update on inflation came in close
to economists’ expectations. The data strengthened expectations that
the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate at least twice
in 2026 to shore up the job market.
Lower interest rates could make borrowing cheaper for U.S.
households and boost prices for investments, but they could also
worsen inflation at the same time. Tuesday’s report showed that U.S.
consumers paid prices last month for gasoline, food and other costs
of living that were 2.7% higher overall than a year earlier. That’s
a touch worse than economists expected and above the Fed’s 2% target
for inflation.
But, in a more encouraging sign, an important underlying trend of
inflation wasn’t as bad last month as economists expected. That
could give the Fed more leeway to lower interest rates later.
“We’ve seen this movie before—inflation isn’t reheating, but it
remains above target,” according to Ellen Zentner, chief economic
strategist for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
The data helped the 10-year Treasury ease to 4.17% from 4.19% late
Monday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks
expectations for what the Fed will do, inched down to 3.52% from
3.54%.
A day earlier, Treasury yields swung amid worries about the Federal
Reserve’s worsening feud with President Donald Trump. The concern is
that the president’s attacks on the Fed could result in a central
bank that’s more subservient to the White House. Experts say that in
turn could lead to higher inflation over the long term.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe and Asia.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 soared 3.1% for one of the world’s biggest moves
and set a record, thanks in part to strength for technology-related
stocks.
Investors expect Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who took
office in October, to try to capitalize on her relatively high
popularity and call a snap election, hoping to strengthen her
mandate for higher government spending.
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AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.
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