US stocks mostly advanced on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve made its first rate cut of 2025.
As of 9:35 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.8% higher.
At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38.2 points, or 0.08%, to 46,056.55. The S&P 500 rose 26.5 points, or 0.40%, to 6,626.85, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 177.8 points, or 0.80%, to 22,439.111.
Tech shares jumped after US chipmaker Nvidia announced a $5 billion investment in Intel. The deal will see the two companies collaborate on developing custom data center and PC products, and resulted in Intel’s stock soaring more than 25%.
Nvidia stock climbed 2.5%
Fed rate cut
On Wednesday the Federal Reserve made a quarter-point rate cut — in line with market expectations — as it flagged risks to the US labor market.
The US central bank also hinted that more rate cuts are likely on the way.
Though Chair Jerome Powell warned that the Fed is stuck in a precarious position and may have to change course quickly. That’s because the economy is in the unusual situation where the job market is slowing when inflation is remaining stubbornly high at the same time.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.12% from 4.06% late on Wednesday.
Novo Nordisk shares rose 5.5% after the Danish company said a newly study showed its once-daily pill version of Wegovy helped people lose significant weight.
Cracker Barrel stock fell 4.1% after the restaurant chain reported a weaker quarterly profit.
Bullion
Gold prices edged lower on Thursday due to profit-taking after a record rally.
As of 9:41 AM EDT (1341 GMT), spot gold fell 0.6% at $3,638.33 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery lost 1.3% to $3,670.40.
Among other metals, spot silver dropped 0.3% at $41.51 per ounce, platinum rose 0.9% to $1,376, and palladium fell 1.1% at $1,141.82.
Crude Oil
Oil prices gained on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve reduced interest rates.
By 1201 GMT, Brent crude futures were up 10 cents, or 0.15%, at $68.05 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate futures added 4 cents, or 0.06%, to $64.09.
