What Happened?

A number of stocks jumped in the afternoon session after a cooler-than-expected inflation report fueled optimism for potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. 

The September Consumer Price Index (CPI) report indicated a 3.0% year-over-year increase in prices, just below the 3.1% that economists had forecast. While still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, investors interpreted this softer inflation reading as a sign that price pressures are easing. This development increases the likelihood that the central bank may move to cut interest rates. Lower interest rates can benefit banks by reducing their cost of funding and potentially stimulating loan demand from businesses and consumers. The positive sentiment was widespread, contributing to a broader market rally that saw the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq all reach new record highs.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Regional Banks company First Hawaiian Bank (NASDAQ: FHB) jumped 3.9%. Is now the time to buy First Hawaiian Bank? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Regional Banks company Coastal Financial (NASDAQ: CCB) jumped 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Coastal Financial? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Regional Banks company 1st Source (NASDAQ: SRCE) jumped 3.4%. Is now the time to buy 1st Source? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Regional Banks company Peoples Bancorp (NASDAQ: PEBO) jumped 3.4%. Is now the time to buy Peoples Bancorp? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.
• Regional Banks company Columbia Banking System (NASDAQ: COLB) jumped 2.6%. Is now the time to buy Columbia Banking System? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Zooming In On First Hawaiian Bank (FHB)

First Hawaiian Bank’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 6 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock dropped 4.4% on the news that disclosures from two lenders raised concerns about deteriorating loan quality across the industry. The drop was triggered by specific incidents that have spooked investors. Zions Bancorp announced a $50 million charge-off—a debt the bank doesn't expect to collect—on a single loan. Separately, Western Alliance Bancorp revealed it was dealing with a borrower who had failed to provide proper collateral. These events are compounding existing anxieties about the regional banking sector, which is already under pressure from elevated interest rates and declining commercial real estate values. The news heightened investor concerns that more cracks could appear in borrowers' creditworthiness, potentially leading to increased loan losses and reduced profitability for other banks in the sector.

First Hawaiian Bank is down 3.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $24.78 per share, it is trading 12.4% below its 52-week high of $28.30 from November 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of First Hawaiian Bank’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,402.

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