London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 05, 2025

US stocks rise after Fed minutes show most policy makers are in favor of easing up on rate hikes

US stocks rise after Fed minutes show most policy makers are in favor of easing up on rate hikes

Stocks advanced for a second straight session with signs the Fed may begin cutting down on hefty rate increases as early as December.

US stocks overcame earlier losses to finish higher Wednesday, as minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting this month indicated policymakers are prepared to cut the size of rate hikes aimed at chopping down inflation.

Wall Street's major indexes landed a second consecutive day of gains. The S&P 500 stretched further into the 4,000 level after closing above that mark on Tuesday for the first time since September. Nine of the index's 11 sectors gained ground, led by the consumer discretionary group.

A "substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate," minutes of this month's Fed meeting released Wednesday afternoon said. The central bank has pushed up the fed funds rate by 75 basis points at four straight meetings.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:

*  S&P 500: 4,027.26, up 0.59%

*  Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,194.06, up 0.28% (95.96 points)

*  Nasdaq Composite: 11,285.32, up 0.99%

Fed speakers have been telegraphing since the November meeting they are heading toward easing the pace of its aggressive campaign, and a rate increase of 50 basis points may be in store for December, Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, wrote in a note.

"It doesn't mean that the Fed reaches its terminal rate in December – rather it could be a lower-for-longer path as the Fed assesses the lagged effect of the cumulative rates on the broader economy. While this doesn't represent the 'pivot' that the market has on its holiday wish list, it does represent an important transition in monetary policy," she said.

Stocks were mixed earlier Wednesday after the Labor Department said weekly jobless claims rose by 17,000 to 240,000. That was more than expected and marked the highest number of claims since August.

Among individual stocks, Deere shares climbed after the heavy equipment maker boosted its 2023 profit outlook to $8 billion to $8.5 billion. Nordstrom shares fell after the upscale retailer cut its 2022 per-share earnings outlook to a range of $2.13 to $2.43. Credit Suisse's US-listed shares fell after the bank under restructuring warned of a fourth-quarter loss of up to 1.5 billion Swiss francs ($1.6 billion).

Equity trading will be closed Thursday for Thanksgiving Day and end early on Friday, at 1 p.m. Eastern.

Here's what else is happening today:

*  Oil prices fell Wednesday following reports the European Union is thinking about capping Russian oil prices at $65-$70 a barrel.

*  An extremely rare signal flashed in the stock market on Tuesday, indicating big gains ahead for equities.

Elon Musk's focus on Twitter's turnaround creates three factors that put Tesla stock at risk, said Wedbush.

*  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has slashed its stake in Chinese electric-vehicle make BYD - and has pulled in about $1.2 billion profit on the shares sold.

*  A lawyer for FTX said a substantial amount of assets belonging to the bankrupt crypto exchange were either missing or stolen.

*  Meanwhile, the court hearing FTX's bankruptcy petition was told the company spent around $300 million buying houses for senior executives in the Bahamas.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:


*  West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.7% to $78.73 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 4% to $84.87.

*  Gold picked up 0.7% to $1,752.70 per ounce.

*  The 10-year Treasury yield fell 11 basis points to 3.70%.

*  Bitcoin rose 2% to $16,455.05.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
×