Thursday saw a rise in the majority of U.S. stocks as the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates once more in an effort to boost the economy. The Federal Open Market Committee announced the decision after positive macro data supported the federal reserve’s targets.
The S&P 500
In addition to its increase from the previous day after Donald Trump's victory, the S&P 500 increased by 0.7 per cent. The S&P 500 was under the control of bullish investors and traders, which led the index to a new record high level of 5,983.84 points.
The index went on to conclude at the higher level of 5,973.10 points, the bullish sentiments supported by Donald Trump’s triumph in the race for the White House and positive macro data, which propelled the index to hit the opening bell at 5,947.21 points.
Nasdaq Composite
The tech heavy index, comprising tech giants and leaders of AI technology like graphics card maker Nvidia, smartphone giant Apple, e-commerce company Amazon, and stocks included in the magnificent seven pack. The Nasdaq composite increased 1.5 per cent on the us bourses.
The Nasdaq composite also zoomed on Wall Street; the index was dominated by the bulls, fuelled by positive macro data, namely the inflation rate was hovering around the federal reserve’s target. The tech heavy index surged to a day high level of 19,301.70 points after ringing the opening bell at 19,084.43 points.
The index concluded the Thursday trading session at 19,269.46 points, with respectable surge of 1.51 per cent amounting to 285.99 points on the us bourses.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained essentially unchanged and decreased by less than a point. The bulls and bears were trying to take over on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which led a tough trading session for both of them.
The index did touch the day high level of 43,823.10 points but could not sustain the momentum and dropped to the day low of 43,641.92 points, under the closing bell level of the previous trading session, which stood at 43,729.93 points.
The index concluded with a very tiny weakness of 0.0013 per cent amounting to 0.59 points, at 43,729.34, concluding the trading session with flat trading day.
Reaction from the overall market
The market was largely unaffected by the Fed's announcement that it was lowering its main interest rate because investors had already predicted its exact magnitude.
After assisting in bringing inflation close to its 2 per cent target, the central bank started lowering rates in September and hinted that more cuts would probably follow as it places more emphasis on maintaining a strong labour market. Investors are currently unsure of how much Trump's win will disrupt the Fed's plans.
Fed chairman Jerome Powell
According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, nothing is changing at the moment. He declared that interest-rate policy would not be impacted by the election in the near future.
Powell stated that the Fed examines potential policy changes and models their potential impact on the economy under any president. Fed officials make decisions about how to influence interest rate movements only after considering the total impact of all the policies. Powell added that it's still unclear what the policies will be once Trump takes the White House back.
He added, 'We don't guess, we don't speculate, and we don't assume.'
