Stock market holds steady after Fed leaves interest rates unchanged
U.S. stock indexes are drifting on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates where they are, a move that could upset President Donald Trump but was one that Wall Street was widely expecting.
The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.2% in afternoon trading, coming off its first loss after setting all-time highs for six successive days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 25 points, or 0.1%, as of 2:05 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was adding 0.4%.
In the bond market, Treasury yields gave back some of their gains from the morning, when a report suggested the U.S. economy’s growth was much stronger during the spring than economists expected. It grew at a 3% annual rate, according to an advance estimate, a full percentage point more than forecast. But underlying trends beneath the surface may be more discouraging.
“Cutting through the noise of the swings in imports, the economy is still chugging along, but it is showing signs of sputtering,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
The data reinforced the dilemma facing Fed officials as they voted Wednesday on what to do with interest rates. They could have lowered rates, which would give a boost to the economy as Trump has so been angrily calling for. But lower rates could also give inflation more fuel when Trump’s tariffs may be set to increase prices for U.S. households.
Trump on Wednesday announced a 25% tariff on imports coming from India, along with an additional tax because of India’s purchases of Russian oil, beginning on Aug. 1. That’s when stiff tariffs Trump has proposed for many other countries are also scheduled to kick in, unless they reach trade deals that lower the rates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has been insisting that he wants to see more data about how tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before the central bank makes its next move, and he will speak shortly to offer more details about the decision.
Two officials on the Fed’s committee did dissent in Wednesday’s vote, an indication that Powell may face increasing pressure to cut rates soon. Much of Wall Street expects the Fed to resume lowering rates in September. It’s been on hold this year after cutting rates several times late last year.
The yield on the two-year U.S. Treasury note edged up to 3.87% from 3.86% late Tuesday. It tends to closely follow expectations for what the Fed will do with its overnight interest rate.
The 10-year Treasury, which also takes into account longer-term expectations for the economy and inflation, was holding at 4.34%.
On Wall Street, stocks were mixed as most big U.S. companies continue to report profits for the spring that were bigger than analysts expected.
Humana rose 10.3% after the insurer and health care giant reported stronger results for the spring than expected. It also raised its forecasts for profit and revenue over the full year.
Video-game maker Electronic Arts climbed 7% after likewise topping Wall Street’s expectations. The company said it saw better-than-expected contributions from EA Sports and other games, and it will reveal its new Battlefield game on Thursday.
Companies are under pressure to deliver solid profit growth. They need to in order to justify the big jumps in their stock prices during recent months, which has caused some critics to say the broad U.S. stock market looks too expensive.
Trane Technologies, whose stock came into the day with a 27.5% gain for the year so far, tumbled even though it reported a stronger-than-expected profit for the latest quarter. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning company’s revenue came up short of analysts’ estimates, as did its forecast for profit in the current quarter. It dropped 8%.
Starbucks swung between gains and losses after it reported a weaker profit than analysts expected as it tries to turn around its operations. The company is hoping to boost its performance through improved store operations and new products, including a cold foam protein drink. Its stock was most recently up 0.4%.
Palo Alto Networks fell 4.4% after saying it would buy CyberArk, an identity-security company, for $25 billion in cash and stock. CyberArk shares added 1.4%.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.4%, and South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7% for two of the bigger moves.
—Stan Choe, AP business writer
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.