As the Donald Trump administration and banks clash over a cap on credit card interest rates, the three major stock indexes on Wall Street closed lower.
On the 13th (Eastern time), on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 398.21 points, or 0.80%, from the previous session to close at 49,191.99. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 slipped 13.53 points, or 0.19%, to 6,963.74, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 24.03 points, or 0.10%, to 23,709.87.
The U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for December came in at or below expectations, but the market showed little reaction. According to the Labor Department, the all-items CPI in December rose 0.3% from the prior month and 2.7% from a year earlier. Core CPI rose 0.2% month over month and 2.6% year over year. Analysts largely viewed the CPI print as uneventful.
With President Trump pushing to cap annual credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, bank stocks plunged across the board. JPMorgan Chase posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results, but its shares still closed down 4.19%. Visa and Mastercard also fell 4.46% and 3.76%, respectively. Wall Street banks are pushing back against the Trump administration's move and said they are ready to sue.
Among mega tech companies with a market capitalization over $1 trillion, Alphabet, Nvidia, Apple and Broadcom rose around 1%. Alphabet gained more than 1% again, firming up the $4 trillion market cap line. Among consumer companies, Walmart rose 2% again as index-tracking buying flowed in ahead of its inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 after its transfer listing to the Nasdaq.