The AI-scare trade is finally hitting banks. Bargain-hunters should take note.

Nasdaq leads stocks lower in final hour as Treasury yields hit two-decade highs The AI-scare trade is finally hitting banks. Bargain-hunters should take note. Financials have been the worst-performing stocks lately, according to Bespoke U.S. financial-services stocks have been struggling lately. /iStockphoto In an era of higher interest rates, banks have reaped big profits due to consumers’ reluctance to move money out of low-interest checking accounts that offer convenience and ready access to money.

But investors are starting to worry that increasing adoption of AI agents could usher in a scenario similar to what Citrini Research envisioned in a viral report published earlier this year. That report was widely credited with inspiring a selloff that wiped away hundreds of billions of market value from software stocks and other names. Copyright ©2026 MarketWatch, Inc.

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