The three main US stock indices briefly gained in value during volatile trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. The Fed also signaled that borrowing costs are likely to decrease further this year, but the pace of such reductions will slow down in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the regulator expects rate cuts this year, the pace of reductions in 2026\u20132027 will be less intense. In its statement, the Fed also factored in the impact of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Fed is considering a slowdown in economic growth. The vote was unanimous, and keeping rates unchanged was not a surprise,\u201d commented Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Investors are also watching with concern the events in the Middle East, where fears are rising about possible US involvement in an air war between Israel and Iran. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected Trump\u2019s demand for unconditional surrender. Trump said his patience has run out but did not specify next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Fed’s announcement, indices initially rose but then returned to levels close to the start of the day. As of 2:14 PM, the Dow Jones index was up 0.29%, the S&P 500 up 0.28%, and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.37%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier Wednesday, data on US unemployment claims were released, showing a decrease in new claims, although the labor market continues to lose momentum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones by more than two to one\u2014a ratio of 2.27 to 1. There were 85 new highs and 45 new lows. On Nasdaq, the number of advancing stocks exceeded declining stocks by a ratio of 1.8 to 1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":4700,"template":"","class_list":["post-4702","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n