Federal Reserve’s Initial Interest Rate Cut Triggers Market Upswing

The significant stock indices were generally elevated as traders discovered fresh enthusiasm following the Federal Reserve’s initial interest rate reduction for the year. The federal reserve shrunk the policy rate by a quarter point, bringing it within 4% to 4.25% bandwidth. Weakness in the labor market was underscored by the Fed as a primary concern, insinuating that more rate cuts might be on the horizon for October and December.

Federal Reserve Chairperson Jerome Powell, however, was meticulous in labeling this policy relaxation as a measure for ‘risk management’ rather than a complete shift. He indicated that all forthcoming decisions would be largely data-dependent. In tandem with this, the U.S. noticed a reduction in the initial jobless claims, which fell by 33,000 to total 231,000 for the week concluding on September 13th.

In the UK, the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to maintain the Bank Rate at 4%. However, two members were in favor of decreasing the Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points to 3.75%. Despite this, there were notable movements in the commodities market, particularly concerning gold prices.

Prices for the ‘safe haven’ asset, gold, have slumped continuously over two days, falling beneath $3,700 after earlier highs were recorded. Simultaneously, one could observe increased volatility in oil trading. In other news, Nvidia (NVDA) has expressed intentions to inject $5B into Intel (INTC).

Entertainment headlines revolved around Disney’s (DIS) ABC, which announced indefinite removal of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ from its regular scheduling as a response to Kimmel’s comments about the ‘MAGA gang’ exploiting Charlie Kirk’s death for political leverage. This move was applauded by President Trump, who additionally criticized late-night hosts Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon.

From the corporate world, Darden (DRI) released disappointing Q1 outcomes and gave their forecasts for FY26. Cracker Barrel (CBRL) had a mixed bag of Q4 results, projecting a relatively modest forecast for FY26. Roche (RHHBY), meanwhile, has agreed to an absolute merger deal to assimilate 89bio (ETNB). Qualitative judgments on several corporations were also issued.

RBC Capital promoted Nike’s (NKE) status to ‘Outperform’, citing extravagant revenue recovery prospects. Stepstone Group (STEP) received an upgrade to ‘Buy’ from Goldman Sachs. Contrarily, because of a coverage transfer, UBS demoted Dropbox (DBX) from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Sell’.

More over, Wells Fargo has placed Progressive’s (PGR) status at ‘Equal Weight’ after previously classifying it as ‘Overweight’. Quantum Computing (QUBT) has been vested with a ‘Buy’ rating from Lake Street, which dubbed the stock as a tempting prospect for quantum computing market participation. In addition, Lionsgate (LION) is preparing for a staff cut of 5% during its forthcoming layoff round.

Meanwhile, discussions are underway for Sumitomo Mitsui (SMFG) to enhance its stake in Jefferies Financial (JEF) from 15% upwards to roughly 20%, with the intent of tightening cooperation between the businesses. Plans by GE Healthcare (GEHC) are also being formulated surrounding various options for their China operations, including selling a share in said unit.

In aviation, Spirit Airlines (FLYY) is configuring plans to reduce flight frequency by 25%, as conveyed by CEO Dave Davis in a staff memo. In technology, Tencent (TCEHY) and Baidu (BIDU) have jointly let go of roughly $3.3B worth of offshore bonds in 2025.

From the clinical domain, Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) saw an upswing post completion of enrollment in the Phase 3 HAELO study of Ionov-z. Rigetti Computing (RGTI), after securing a three-year, $5.8M contract from AFRL, showed an increment. Contrastingly, Vita Coco (COCO) fell post announcement of a 3M share offering.

Semblably, Red Cat (RCAT) took a hit, post announcement of a 15.6M share offering. Nano Dimension (NNDM) demonstrated a slump after revealing its quarterly results. Moving into financial updates, Intuit (INTU) upheld its financial advice for Q1 and FY26, while Barfresh Food Group (BRFH) enhanced their FY25 forecasts.

Unfortunately, not all firms shared the success with DuPont (DD), who cut their financial outlook for Q3 and FY25. Nevertheless, FactSet (FDS) posted Q4 outcomes, although earnings per share (EPS) fell below market expectations. Contrarily, NRG Energy (NRG) positively adjusted their FY25 financial predictions.

To cap the day, the Dow Jones saw an increase of 124.10, or 0.27% to 46,142.42, the Nasdaq shot up by 209.40, or 0.94%, reaching 22,470.73, and the S&P 500 climbed up by 31.61, or 0.48%, to a total of 6,631.96.