Honestly, it has been a rough morning for anyone holding financial stocks. If you checked your portfolio and saw a lot of red, you aren't alone. Today, January 15, 2026, the market is dealing with a messy mix of quarterly earnings reports and some pretty wild political headwind from Washington. It’s one of those days where the big names are dragging the whole ship down.
The big story? The banks.
Banks are usually the "boring" part of a portfolio, but not today. We’re seeing significant hits to major institutions like Wells Fargo and Citigroup. While the tech sector is trying to hold its breath, the financial heavyweights are basically in freefall after a series of reports that didn't just miss the mark—they sort of redefined where the mark even is.
The Big Names: Which Stocks Dropped Most Today
When we look at which stocks dropped most today, the names leading the pack are mostly the ones you’d find on a local street corner. Financials are taking the brunt of the damage. Wells Fargo (WFC) is currently down over 5%, sitting around the $88.74 level. Citigroup (C) isn't far behind, dropping roughly 4.6% as investors digest a fourth-quarter report that felt a bit like a cold shower.
It’s not just about the numbers they reported, though. There is a lot of chatter about the proposed 10% cap on credit card interest rates. That’s a huge deal. If that actually happens, the business model for companies like Synchrony Financial (SYF) and Bread Financial (BFH) basically gets turned upside down. Synchrony is down about 8% today, and Bread Financial is seeing double-digit losses. They basically live on those high-interest retail cards, so a cap at 10% is an existential threat.
Beyond the Vaults: Tech and Travel Hits
It's not just the banks getting kicked around. Look at AppLovin (APP). They’ve had a monster run lately, but today they’re pulling back hard—down nearly 10%. Sometimes when a stock goes to the moon, it has to come back for fuel, and that's what we're seeing there.
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Travel stocks are also feeling the heat. Airbnb (ABNB) and Expedia (EXPE) are both down significantly, with Airbnb shedding about 6.8%. It seems like the "revenge travel" era might finally be hitting a wall of reality as consumer spending tightens up.
- Wells Fargo (WFC): Down 5.15% after earnings missed expectations.
- Citigroup (C): Dropped 3.99% as the broader financial sector cooled.
- AppLovin (APP): A massive 9.86% drop after a period of overextension.
- Airbnb (ABNB): Down 6.89% on fears of slowing consumer demand.
- Intuit (INTU): Slid 7.06% as investors re-evaluate software valuations.
Why the Market is Acting So Weird
You’ve probably noticed that the Nasdaq is usually the one doing the heavy lifting, but today it’s lagging. The S&P 500 is down about 0.5%, and the Dow is struggling to stay flat.
A big part of this is the "Trump 10% cap" talk. Over the weekend, the administration suggested capping credit card interest at 10%. For a bank like Capital One (COF), which is down 6% today, that’s a nightmare scenario. They take on "subprime" borrowers—people with lower credit scores—and charge higher rates to cover the risk. If they can't charge more than 10%, they probably just won't lend to those people at all.
Then you’ve got the AI fatigue. We’ve been talking about AI for two years straight. Now, companies like Adobe (ADBE) and Salesforce (CRM) are under the microscope. Investors are starting to ask, "Okay, where's the actual profit from all this AI spending?" Salesforce dropped 7% earlier this week and is still struggling to find its footing today.
What Most People Get Wrong About a Red Day
Most people see a 5% drop and panic. They think the world is ending. But honestly, if you look at the broader picture, the S&P 500 had a massive year in 2025—up over 17%. A little bit of "digestion" is normal.
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What’s actually happening is a rotation. While which stocks dropped most today focuses on the losers, money is moving into "safe havens." Gold is at an all-time high of $4,650 an ounce. Silver just crossed $90. Investors are basically saying, "I'm worried about the banks and the government, so I'm going to buy shiny metal."
Also, watch the "Magnificent 7." They aren't the bulletproof shields they used to be. Nvidia (NVDA) is down about 2% today. It’s not a crash, but it shows that even the king of AI isn't immune to a general market selloff.
The Real Risk: Policy Volatility
The biggest thing to watch isn't even the earnings. It's Washington. We're in a period where a single tweet or a weekend comment about interest rate caps can wipe out billions in market cap. This "policy volatility" is the new normal for 2026.
If you’re invested in the big banks, you have to decide if the current selloff is a "buying opportunity" or the start of a permanent change in how they make money. Experts like Tom Lee from Fundstrat have been saying you shouldn't fight the White House. If the government wants to pick winners and losers, you might want to be on the side they’re picking.
How to Handle the Volatility
If you're looking at these drops and wondering what to do, don't make a move based on a single day's percentage.
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First, check your exposure to the "subprime" lenders. If you own Synchrony or Capital One, you need to follow the news on that 10% cap very closely. That isn't just a market fluctuation; it’s a potential change to their entire industry.
Second, look at the AI laggards. Just because a stock like Microsoft (MSFT) is down 2.5% today doesn't mean it's a bad company. It just means the market is resetting expectations.
Lastly, keep an eye on the earnings calendar. Tesla (TSLA) is coming up later this month. Given how the other big names have performed this week, expect a lot of nervous energy leading up to that report.
If you want to stay ahead of these moves, the best thing to do is diversify out of just one sector. When the banks get hit this hard, you'll be glad you have some exposure to those record-high gold prices or even the booming Bitcoin-treasury stocks like Strategy (MSTR), which actually moved up while the banks were tanking.
To manage your portfolio through this, start by auditing your financial sector holdings to see how much of their revenue comes from high-interest credit products. Next, set "stop-loss" orders for your more volatile growth stocks like AppLovin to protect the gains you’ve made over the last year. Finally, consider rebalancing a small portion of your tech gains into defensive sectors like utilities or healthcare, which have shown more resilience during these recent policy-driven selloffs.