The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged more than 400 points on Wednesday after the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes. The minutes showed that Fed officials agreed to a half-point rate cut, the first reduction in over four years, despite being divided on the economic outlook and uncertain about how aggressive to be. In late afternoon trading, the Dow jumped 410 points, or 1.08%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 also rose, gaining 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Oil prices declined, with the international benchmark Brent crude approaching $72 per barrel, which boosted investor confidence. Shares of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, slipped more than 2% after a federal judge ruled in August on addressing Google’s alleged monopoly.
Dow climbs on Fed meeting results
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it would seek remedies to prevent and restrain any present and future maintenance of the company’s dominance in the search market. Nvidia’s market capitalization surpassed Microsoft’s once again as the AI chipmaker’s stock rose almost 1% at the open on Wednesday.
Nvidia’s market cap hit $3.26 trillion, compared to Microsoft’s $3.09 trillion. Both companies trailed Apple’s market cap of $3.44 trillion. Boeing’s stock dropped after the company withdrew its latest offer to union machinists following a breakdown in negotiations.
The Arlington, Virginia-based firm’s offer, which it labeled its “best and final proposal,” included 30% pay raises for the 33,000 factory workers who have been on strike since rejecting a tentative labor deal on September 13. The article was contributed to by Rocio Fabbro, William Gavin, and Britney Nguyen.
- QZ.”The Dow spikes more than 400 points as Fed minutes and an inflation report come into focus”.
- Reuters.”Equities rise after Fed minutes; inflation data and earnings in focus”.
- FT.”Live news: US Treasury yields remain higher after release of Fed minutes”.