FX168 Financial News Agency (North America) News #US Stock Market Review# On Friday (September 20th), as the expectations of interest rate cuts faded, the US stock market closed mixed. The Dow rose to a new high, while FedEx's stock price plummeted by 15%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.09% at 42,063.363 points; the S&P 500 Index closed down 0.2% at 5,702.55 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 0.36% at 17,948.32 points.

(Source: FX168)

(Source: FX168)

Interest rate cut digestion.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by half a percentage point for the first time since 2020. As a delayed reaction, the market rose on Thursday, with investors buying technology stocks like Nvidia and stocks like Home Depot that would benefit from the lower interest rates.

Although the trend was flat on Friday, the major stock indexes closed higher this week, with most of the gains coming from the market surge on Thursday, as investors accepted Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech that the substantial rate cut by the Fed was to support the economy rather than to rescue it - the unemployment data supported this view.

Christopher Waller, a Federal Reserve governor, said on Friday that the pace of inflation decline was faster than he had expected, so he supported a half-point rate cut. This is the first comment from a Federal Reserve member since Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference.

Mark Haefele, the head of investment research at Nationwide, said, "Investors see the substantial rate cut as a positive catalyst."

"The Fed was able to convincingly persuade investors that the substantial rate cut is an active measure to maintain the momentum of economic growth, rather than a passive move to stabilize economic growth. The strong market response indicates that investors have confidence in the Fed and are optimistic," Haefele added.

In addition, a senior strategist at Bank of America stated that the enthusiasm driven by the Fed is intensifying bubble risks. Michael Hartnett mentioned that the current stock market reflects levels of loose policy and profit growth, prompting investors to chase returns.

Key Points for Next Week

No economic data was released on Friday to show where the economy might be headed.

Next week will see the release of the preliminary reports on U.S. business activity, the final revised figure for spring economic growth rate, and the latest update on U.S. consumer spending.

Bond market

The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds remained stable at 3.72%, unchanged from Thursday evening.

Overseas stock markets.

After the rise of Asian stock markets, most of the European stock markets fell.

As expected, the Bank of Japan kept interest rates unchanged, and the Tokyo Nikkei 225 index rose 1.5%.

In China, the central bank kept the key loan rate unchanged on Friday. Hong Kong stock market rose 1.4%, Shanghai stock market rose less than 0.1%.

Focus stocks

Intel's stock price soared by 3.31%, while Qualcomm's stock price fell by 2.87%. The Wall Street Journal reported that semiconductor giant Qualcomm has been in talks with this chipmaker in recent days to discuss the possibility of acquisition.

FedEx fell by 15.24%, as the company reported a sharp decline in profits, below Wall Street expectations. FedEx also lowered its revenue growth outlook for the fiscal year, stating that American customers had reduced parcel shipments through priority services while having to deal with rising labor and other costs. As an economic barometer, the sharp drop in stock prices of this courier company has attracted attention.

Nike's stock price rose by 6.85% as the sportswear manufacturer appointed a new CEO in the face of sales pressure, causing its stock price to rise. John Hill, 60, held various leadership positions at Nike and worked for over 30 years before retiring in 2020.

The stock price of Constellation Energy Corp also rose by 22.29% after announcing the restart of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and the sale of electricity to Microsoft. Microsoft's stock price fell by 0.78%.

Trump Media & Technology Group's stock price fell by 7.82%. Trump and other insiders of the company were unable to cash in due to a 'lock-up agreement.' As the lock-up period ends, the market is concerned that its stock price will continue to fall.

Homebuilder Lennar fell by 5.38% as the company reported mixed financial results. The latest quarter's profits exceeded expectations, but the company noted a decrease in profit for every $100 home sold, and projects that the profit margin for this quarter will remain level.