Goldman estimates that companies could spend some $1.07 trillion on buying back their own stock this year. On the other side of the equation, global investors have poured about $143 billion into money market funds in the week ending Jan 10, the largest since March 25, 2020, Goldman said.

Wall Street pauses Thursday, with stocks little moved in early trade. Strong bank earnings keep rolling in and Senate questions Trump's Treasury pick.

U.S. stocks dipped on Thursday as a jump in the prior session cooled, while investors eyed the most recent corporate earnings and gauged economic data to determine the path of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

A groundswell of activity in boardrooms and on trading floors is hyping up investors about the coming year for some of the biggest banks. But that isn’t the whole story for the Main Street banking sector.