Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Stock Market Today: Wall Street Ticks Higher Ahead of the Fed's Decision on Interest Rates
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 40 seconds ago on
November 7, 2024

Wall Street awaits Fed's interest rate decision as stocks inch higher, with mixed performance across sectors and global markets. (AP/Richard Drew)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — U.S. stocks are ticking higher Thursday, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s announcement coming in the afternoon about what it will do with interest rates.

The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in morning trading, though momentum slowed sharply from its surge a day before following Donald Trump’s presidential victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 30 points, or 0.1%, as of 10:10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% higher.

Ralph Lauren was one of the market’s leaders and galloped 5.7% higher after customers in Asia and Europe helped it deliver a bigger profit for the latest quarter than expected. Healthcare services company McKesson jumped 8.2% after likewise reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

They helped make up for bank stocks, which gave back some of their stellar gains from the day before. Other “Trump trades” that had rocketed higher after the election also lost some of their juice.

Banks and Small Stocks Lag After Previous Day’s Surge

JPMorgan Chase fell 3.3%, a day after banks decisively led the market on expectations that a stronger economy and lighter regulation from Washington would mean fatter profits. Smaller U.S. stocks also lagged the market, with the Russell 2000 index down 0.1%. A day before, it more than doubled the S&P 500’s gain on expectations that Trump’s America-First priorities would most benefit smaller, more domestically focused companies.

The stock that’s become most synonymous with the president-elect, Trump Media & Technology Group, fell 17.6%.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.36% from 4.44% late Wednesday. It gave back some of its surge from the prior day, driven by expectations that Trump’s plans for higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation could lead to bigger economic growth, inflation and U.S. government debt.

Fed Decision Looms as Market’s Main Event

The market’s main event for the day, though, is coming later in the afternoon. Wall Street’s nearly consensus expectation is that the Fed will cut its main interest rate for a second straight time. The central bank began its rate-cutting campaign in September as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after helping get inflation nearly down to its 2% target.

A report on Thursday showed slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits, though the number was what economists expected. A separate preliminary report said U.S. workers improved their productivity during the summer, which can help keep a lid on inflation, but not by quite as much as economists expected.

Trump’s victory may also complicate things for the Fed, and investors are waiting to hear if Chair Jerome Powell will say whether anything will change in its plans.

Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say would drive inflation higher, along with the economy’s growth. Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to interest rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. Expectations for such cuts have been a major reason the S&P 500 has set dozens of records already this year.

Mixed Results for Individual Stocks

On Wall Street, Lyft jumped 29.6% after the ride-hailing app breezed past Wall Street’s sales and profit expectations for the latest quarter. Chip company Qualcomm climbed 2% after likewise beating analysts’ profit forecasts.

Match Group tumbled 15.6% after the dating app brand missed revenue targets as its most popular app, Tinder, continued to underperform.

In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 was virtually flat after the Bank of England cut its own interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% amid worries about the potential for a revival of trade tensions under a Trump administration.

“I think everybody’s going to be worried about Trump’s tariffs because that’s one of the things in his playbook. And so we’ll have to see how things develop in the early stages of his presidency this time,” said Neil Newman, head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan.

Stocks rallied 2% in Hong Kong and 2.6% in Shanghai rallied after the Chinese government reported exports jumped in October at the fastest pace in more than two years.

Trump has promised to slap blanket 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports, raising them still more if Beijing makes a move to invade the self-governing island of Taiwan. That would add to the burdens Beijing is facing as it struggles to revive slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

But the impact may be less drastic than feared, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report.

“We expect shipments to stay strong in the coming months –- any drag from potential Trump tariffs may not materialize until the second half of next year,” Huang said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Cautious on Ohtani’s Return, Eye Infield Shift for Betts

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Ticks Higher Ahead of the Fed’s Decision on Interest Rates

DON'T MISS

Cuba Left Reeling After Category 3 Hurricane Ravages Island and Knocks Out Power Grid

DON'T MISS

Thousands Ordered to Evacuate as Powerful Wind-Fed Wildfire Burns Homes in Southern California

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Double DUI Crash Leaves One Seriously Injured

DON'T MISS

Cat House on the Kings Wants You to Adopt This Adorable Puppy

DON'T MISS

Fresno Breaks Up with Park Operator Over Alleged Million Dollar Miss

DON'T MISS

Maher Thinks Votes Will Turn His Way Against Costa

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Star Fernando Valenzuela Remembered for Having ‘the Heart of a Lion’ at His Funeral

DON'T MISS

Hundreds of Californians Flee and Homes Burn as Powerful Winds Feed Wildfires

UP NEXT

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Ticks Higher Ahead of the Fed’s Decision on Interest Rates

UP NEXT

Cuba Left Reeling After Category 3 Hurricane Ravages Island and Knocks Out Power Grid

UP NEXT

Thousands Ordered to Evacuate as Powerful Wind-Fed Wildfire Burns Homes in Southern California

UP NEXT

Fresno County Double DUI Crash Leaves One Seriously Injured

UP NEXT

Cat House on the Kings Wants You to Adopt This Adorable Puppy

UP NEXT

Fresno Breaks Up with Park Operator Over Alleged Million Dollar Miss

UP NEXT

Maher Thinks Votes Will Turn His Way Against Costa

UP NEXT

Dodgers Star Fernando Valenzuela Remembered for Having ‘the Heart of a Lion’ at His Funeral

UP NEXT

Hundreds of Californians Flee and Homes Burn as Powerful Winds Feed Wildfires

UP NEXT

Clovis Unified’s Outdoor Education Employees Seeking Union Representation

Thousands Ordered to Evacuate as Powerful Wind-Fed Wildfire Burns Homes in Southern California

10 mins ago

Fresno County Double DUI Crash Leaves One Seriously Injured

25 mins ago

Cat House on the Kings Wants You to Adopt This Adorable Puppy

5 hours ago

Fresno Breaks Up with Park Operator Over Alleged Million Dollar Miss

16 hours ago

Maher Thinks Votes Will Turn His Way Against Costa

16 hours ago

Dodgers Star Fernando Valenzuela Remembered for Having ‘the Heart of a Lion’ at His Funeral

17 hours ago

Hundreds of Californians Flee and Homes Burn as Powerful Winds Feed Wildfires

17 hours ago

Elon Musk Slams Democrats for “Hoaxes” and Hypocrisy on Joe Rogan’s Podcast

18 hours ago

Clovis Unified’s Outdoor Education Employees Seeking Union Representation

18 hours ago

Harris Says Nation Must Accept Election Results, Urging Supporters to Keep Fighting

19 hours ago

Dodgers Cautious on Ohtani’s Return, Eye Infield Shift for Betts

SAN ANTONIO — The Los Angeles Dodgers aren’t counting on Shohei Ohtani to pitch at the start of next season and will wait to see how h...

5 seconds ago

5 seconds ago

Dodgers Cautious on Ohtani’s Return, Eye Infield Shift for Betts

42 seconds ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Ticks Higher Ahead of the Fed’s Decision on Interest Rates

8 mins ago

Cuba Left Reeling After Category 3 Hurricane Ravages Island and Knocks Out Power Grid

10 mins ago

Thousands Ordered to Evacuate as Powerful Wind-Fed Wildfire Burns Homes in Southern California

25 mins ago

Fresno County Double DUI Crash Leaves One Seriously Injured

5 hours ago

Cat House on the Kings Wants You to Adopt This Adorable Puppy

16 hours ago

Fresno Breaks Up with Park Operator Over Alleged Million Dollar Miss

16 hours ago

Maher Thinks Votes Will Turn His Way Against Costa

Search

Send this to a friend