The Dow Jones Industrial Average staged a rapid reversal on Wednesday, touching a record high earlier in the session before rolling over after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank might not cut interest rates again in 2025.
The 30-stock index gave up its gains, moving lower 74.37 points Wednesday to 47,632
The S&P 500 inched back 0.28 points to 6,890.61.
The NASDAQ gained 130.98 points to 23,958.47.
Megacap technology name Nvidia clung to gains Wednesday, advancing 3.1%. The artificial intelligence chip darling’s market capitalization had rocketed up above $5 trillion in the session, the first time a U.S. company reached such a valuation.
The stock notched a five-day winning streak as well. The move comes just a day after the company announced an array of new deals, especially one that involves the chip giant taking a $1-billion stake in Finnish networking company Nokia.
The Fed lowered its benchmark overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting Wednesday afternoon, putting it in a range of between 3.75% to 4%.
This marks the second time this year that the central bank has slashed rates. Prior to the decision, investors were betting on another quarter-point cut at the Fed’s December meeting.
Trade tensions between the U.S. and China already appear to have alleviated after progress over the weekend, but investors are now awaiting what comes of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury leaped, dropping yields to 4.08% from Tuesday’s 3.98%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 26 cents to $60.41 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices turned lower $31.86 to $3,951/30 U.S. an ounce.
