FYI: U.S. stocks continued to rise Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates again and signaled it may hold off on further cuts this year.
The S&P 500 hit another record high finishing up 0.33%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115 points, 0.43%, to 27186. The Nasdaq Composite, rose 0.33%.
The indexes gained traction after the Fed announced Wednesday afternoon that it would cut rates a third time this year.
That’s likely because investors largely expected the central bank to cut rates again, analysts said. Investors had already factored in the additional rate cut in recent months, giving stocks little more upside on that alone.
The central bank signaled in its latest policy statement that it may hold off on further rate cuts this year. Most investors, meanwhile, were already expecting the Fed to hold off on cutting rates again in December. Those expectations held steady following the central bank’s decision.
Underneath the index moves, corporate earnings continued to drive most of the bigger swings in individual stocks.
Shares of Yum Brands declined 7% after the restaurant chain marked down the value of its investment in online food delivery app GrubHub. Shares of Molson Coors Brewing also fell, shedding 3.8% after the maker of Coors Light and Miller Lite disclosed plans to cut hundreds of jobs.
Meanwhile, General Electric jumped 9.2% after the company raised its cash-flow outlook for the year.
And shares of Johnson & Johnson rose 2.5% saying Tuesday that a test of its baby powder didn’t find traces of asbestos, rebutting U.S. regulators’ claims about the product.
A raft of major U.S. companies, including Apple and Facebook, are scheduled to report after Wednesday’s closing bell.
Elsewhere, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 index closed up less than 0.1%, even though some of the region’s biggest banks posted declines. Stocks in the U.K. also slipped after lawmakers agreed to hold an early election on Dec. 12 in an attempt to break the stalemate over Brexit. The FTSE 250 gauge fell 0.3%.
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-30/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stocks-on-track-for-mixed-start-ahead-of-fed-decision-2019-10-30/printWSJ:
Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-29/asia-stock-futures-mixed-before-fed-decision-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stock-market-rebounds-on-remarks-by-feds-powell-apple-facebook-await-earnings/CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/stock-market-fed-rate-decision-and-earnings-in-focus-on-wall-street.htmlReuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/stocks-little-changed-in-wake-of-fed-statement-idUKKBN1X91BWU.K:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/pharma-stocks-lift-ftse-100-out-of-red-idUKKBN1X90ULEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-nudge-higher-as-loreal-outweighs-bank-earnings-upset-idUSKBN1X90U0Asia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/asia-markets-october-30-fed-rate-decision-us-china-trade-currencies.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/us-treasury-october-fed-meeting.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/forex-markets-us-federal-reserve-in-focus.htmlOil
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/oil-markets-cushing-crude-stocks-in-focus.htmlGold:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/30/gold-markets-us-china-trade-federal-reserve-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
Comments
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-powell-idUSKBN1X92PU
This was a fascinating exchange between Powell and CNBC’s Steve Liesman during the post-announcement press conference. Powell appeared to “blow his cool“ briefly towards the end.
I’ve searched for a short video clip of the actual (60-second or so) exchange, but couldn’t locate one.
As far as 115 points? Geez - When ya got 20,000 in your pocket over the last decade, who cares about a measly 115?
(Shares of Molson Coors Brewing also fell, shedding 3.8% after the maker of Coors Light and Miller Lite disclosed plans to cut hundreds of jobs.)
Derf