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The KBW Bank Index fell as much as 4.7% on Friday, dragging the sector to its lowest level since December last year and setting it up for its worst monthly performance since March. This month, banks, payment service providers, and asset management companies have suffered consecutive shocks, most notably issues related to the new generation of artificial intelligence applications and the private credit sector. Block's layoff of nearly half its staff on Thursday night intensified market concerns that artificial intelligence could disrupt a wide range of economic sectors. Credit spreads have also begun to widen, and the collapse of UK mortgage lender MFS, backed by Wall Street, has heightened market worries that banks may face rising default risks in the opaque private lending sector. Analyst Herman Chan said: "Banks are entering a more volatile period, and there are many unknowns regarding the pace of artificial intelligence applications and disruption. The rise in Treasury bonds combined with widening credit spreads indicates the market is in a risk-off mode."

The company stated that it has noticed the issue and is actively investigating and resolving it.

In the past quarter, the boost to U.S. corporate earnings from a weaker dollar has been "far below normal levels." The buyback yield of U.S. stocks is currently only on par with global peers and lower than that of the UK, which impacts capital flows, corporate earnings, and valuations. Strategists noted that communications with clients indicate "a clear shift of funds toward global markets, and ETF fund flows also confirm this." 45% of recent fund flows have gone to equity markets outside the United States. UBS stated that it has not yet underweighted U.S. stocks, "but the risk of underperformance appears higher than the likelihood of outperformance."