JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) shares are trading lower by 3% to $239.54 this week. The stock is likely down amid broader investor concerns sparked by conflicting economic signals and heightened market volatility.

The decline comes as wholesale inflation rose more than expected, while jobless claims surged, clouding the Federal Reserve's path forward.

What To Know: The Producer Price Index (PPI) soared 3% year-over-year in November, surpassing economist forecasts and marking the steepest rise since February 2023. Coupled with a significant increase in jobless claims—up 17,000 to 242,000 last week—investors grappled with fears of persistent inflation and a softening labor market.

For JPMorgan, these developments amplify existing challenges in the banking sector. As a bellwether of U.S. financial institutions, the company is particularly sensitive to changes in interest rate policy.

The sharp rise in PPI could pressure the Fed to delay or limit anticipated rate cuts, a scenario that could squeeze JPMorgan's net interest margin, a key driver of profitability.

Moreover, rising jobless claims signal potential stress on consumer spending and loan repayment trends, both critical to JPMorgan's retail banking and credit portfolios. The bank has already faced margin pressures in 2024 as slowing loan growth and rising deposit competition eat into earnings.

Investors remain cautious, awaiting clarity on Federal Reserve policy, which could significantly impact JPMorgan's performance heading into 2025.

How To Buy JPM Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for JPMorgan – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy 'fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of JPMorgan Chase, which is trading at $239.79 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.42 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to 'go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, JPM has a 52-week high of $251.77 and a 52-week low of $161.70.