Fri Sep 20 11:45:42 UTC 2024: ## Stocks Close Nearly Unchanged After Fed Rate Cut Boost

**NEW YORK (Reuters)** – U.S. stocks ended Friday’s trading session virtually unchanged, marking a pause after a strong rally on Thursday fueled by the Federal Reserve’s larger-than-expected interest rate cut. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new record high, driven by gains in Nike and Intel, the broader market remained subdued.

The major averages still managed to secure weekly gains of at least 1%, following their biggest daily percentage increases since mid-August.

The market’s muted performance came despite comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who raised expectations for another 50 basis point rate cut at the November meeting, following the 50 basis point cut announced on Wednesday. However, fellow Fed Governor Michelle Bowman expressed her preference for a smaller rate reduction.

“The market is still trying to recalibrate because there were some market participants who may have expected 50 basis points, but a lot of people didn’t,” said Sid Vaidya, U.S. chief wealth strategist at TD Wealth in New York. “You have to be a little bit more selective and measured, just because we are expecting growth to slow down a little bit and valuations, especially in large-cap growth, are a bit stretched.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.17 points, or 0.09%, to close at 42,063.36. The S&P 500 lost 11.09 points, or 0.19%, to finish at 5,702.55. The Nasdaq Composite shed 65.66 points, or 0.36%, closing at 17,948.32.

Despite the mixed day, the S&P 500 gained 1.36% for the week, the Nasdaq rose 1.49%, and the Dow climbed 1.62%.

The utilities sector soared 2.69% to a record high, led by a 22.29% jump in Constellation Energy shares after the company signed a data-center deal with Microsoft.

Intel shares closed up 3.31% after a Wall Street Journal report suggested Qualcomm had made a takeover approach to the chipmaker.

However, FedEx plunged 15.23% after lowering its full-year revenue forecast, dragging down the Dow Jones Transport index by 3.53%, its biggest daily drop since late April 2023.

Nike shares climbed 6.84% after announcing the return of former senior executive Elliott Hill as CEO.

Friday also saw the expiration of options and futures linked to stock indexes and individual stocks, known as triple witching, which contributed to the heaviest trading volume of the year.

While historically equities have performed well in a rate-cutting environment, the outlook remains uncertain with the S&P 500’s valuations significantly above its long-term average.

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