U.S. stocks end firm after Fed trims rates but next move’s uncertain

U.S. stocks mostly extended their big post-election rally on Thursday, with all three major indexes touching record highs during the session after the Federal Reserve trimmed interest rates.
The Fed lowered its short-term, benchmark fed funds rate by a quarter-percentage point to between 4.5% to 4.75%, down from a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% just a couple of months ago. It was the second straight cut and off the heels of a jumbo half-point cut the last time the Fed met in September.
The blue-chip Dow closed flat at 43,729.34, but the broad Standard & Poor’s 500 ended at a record high 5,973.10, up 0.74%. The tech-laden Nasdaq finished up 1.51% at a record 19.269.46.
The 10-year Treasury yield spiked on Wednesday, a bump some economists attributed to worries President-elect Donald Trump would run up the deficit and implement sweeping tariffs that would reignite inflation. But it fell after the Fed’s rate announcement. The yield was last down 0.091% on Thursday to 4.335%.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed was “feeling good” about the economy and suggested more small rate cuts were ahead but the pace remains data dependent.
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“They (the Fed) acknowledge that policy remains restrictive and that further cuts are likely but that the pace of those cuts may slow,” wrote James Knightley, chief international economist at Dutch bank ING. “They were reluctant to discuss the ‘Trump effect’, but here’s the risk: slightly firmer growth with more inflationary pressures. And that might lead to a less aggressive rate-cut narrative.”
Trump has promised to enact sweeping tariffs and tax cuts, which some economists say could unleash inflation again.
Economists, so far, are split on whether the Fed will pause rate cuts at its next and final meeting of the year in December or squeeze in another quarter-point cut before a possible pause.
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In between the major news this week that included the election on Tuesday and Thursday’s Fed meeting, companies continued to report earnings.
Some highlights after the market closed include:
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and  subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.