Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) floor in New York City.
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Stock futures were little changed Wednesday night as investors digested a new, sobering reality for financial markets. Trading was volatile after the regular session’s panic surrounding the Federal Reserve’s revised outlook for interest rates next year.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 44 points, or 0.1%, higher. S&P futures traded just above flat, while Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.1%.
Stocks plunged Wednesday’s after the Federal Reserve struck a heavy blow to the roaring bull market, signaling that it was likely to only cut interest rates twice next year, down from the four reductions that had been penciled in during their last forecast in September. The central bank also trimmed its benchmark overnight borrowing rate a quarter percentage point Wednesday, to a target range of 4.25% to 4.5%, but the question now is what policymakers will do in 2025.
“Stretched positioning and sentiment left stocks vulnerable to a selloff,” LPL Financial chief equity strategist Jeff Buchbinder said in reaction to Wednesday’s slump. “The big jump in inflation expectations and related bond selloff was a convenient excuse. Once support from tech evaporated, no other groups were able to step in to fill that gaping hole.”
Chair Jerome Powell didn’t offer investors much in the way of immediate comfort. “We’re at 4.3% — that’s meaningfully restrictive and I think it’s a well-calibrated rate for us to continue to make progress on inflation while keeping a strong labor market,” Powell said at a press conference following the Fed meeting, noting that cutting rates in recent months has allowed the central bank to “be more cautious as we consider more adjustments to our policy rate.”
Leading up to Wednesday’s rate move, Wall Street was betting on the Fed to stay more aggressive in lowering borrowing costs, which affects everything from what companies pay to raise capital to how much it costs consumers to buy a new house or car.
But with the revamped Fed outlook, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 1,123.03 points, or 2.58%, to 42,326.87 — falling for a 10th day, the longest decline since 1974, and putting the index on track for its worst weekly performance since March 2023. The S&P 500 tumbled 2.95% to 5,872.16 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 3.56% to 19,392.69 as the tech-heavy index saw losses pick up towards the end of the session. The 30-stock Dow and S&P 500 both logged their biggest one-day loss since August, when the unwinding of the yen carry trade rocked markets.
Treasury yields jumped following the Fed’s cautious outlook, further pressuring shares. The 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 13 basis points to cross 4.50%.
The Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge” also soared, signaling heightened investor uncertainty over the path of interest rates.
In after-hours trading, Micron Technology plunged roughly 13% after the chipmaker reported weaker-than-expected guidance for the second quarter.