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postUS stocks were little changed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged in its first policy decision of the year. Wall Street also braced for earnings from megacap tech companies in a day that saw the S&P 500 (^GSPC) vault briefly over the 7,000 mark for the first time.
The S&P 500 slipped fractionally from its record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) ticked up 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was little changed.
The Fed’s first interest-rate decision of 2026 came and went as expected, as the central bank kept rates unchanged in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, in a 10-2 decision. Governors Chris Waller and Stephen Miran dissented, voted in favor of a 25 basis point cut.
The spotlight now turns to Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference comments for clues about future cuts. Ahead of Wednesday’s decision, markets were pricing in two quarter-point rate reductions by the end of 2026, according to CME FedWatch.
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The recent slump in the dollar (DX-Y.NYB) raised questions over the potential risk of an economic downturn. The US currency rose Wednesday, after sinking to its lowest level since 2022 on Tuesday after President Trump brushed off the deepest drop in the dollar since his sweeping tariffs launched.
The rate decision also comes amid a period of political tension for the central bank, as the Trump administration in recent weeks opened a criminal investigation against Powell over his Senate testimony about renovations of the central bank’s headquarters. Markets are also watching for Trump to announce Powell’s successor, which Trump has said could happen any day now.
Meanwhile, techs are in the spotlight again as a surprise record surge in orders for ASML’s (ASML) chipmaking machines stoked optimism for a long-lasting AI boom. Shares in ASML turned lower, though the spirits boosted AI bellwether Nvidia (NVDA) and TSMC (TSM), which rely on the Dutch company’s gear to produce chips.
The developments have turned up focus on earnings from Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META), which have invested heavily in an AI-focused data center buildout underpinned by those chips. The tech giants are scheduled to report results after the market close, alongside fellow “Magnificent Seven” megacap Tesla (TSLA). The reports set the stage for Apple’s (AAPL) quarterly update on Thursday.
LIVE 26 updates
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Meta rises 5% as fourth quarter tops estimates
Yahoo Finance’s Dan Howely reports:
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Tesla stock climbs on Q4 earnings beat, Optimus robots on track for end-of-year production
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:
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Stocks flat as Fed holds rates unchanged, gold tops $5,400
Stocks were little changed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, in a widely anticipated move.
The S&P 500 slipped just below the flatline, on the heels of an all-time closing high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed nearly 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was little changed.
Gold surpassed $5,400 per troy ounce to touch a new record high.
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Powell on record gold prices and inflation expectations: ‘our credibility is right where it needs to be’
Fed chair Powell insinuated the run on precious metals does not mean the US is losing credibility about inflation expectations.
“The argument can be made… that we’re losing credibility or something, it’s simply not the case,” said Powell.
“If you look at where inflation expectations — our credibility is right where it needs to be,” he added.
Strategists have been pointing to surging fiscal deficits as a reason why governments will need to inflate away debt, spurring investors to pour into gold and silver in what’s known as the debasement trade.
Gold has rallied 20% year-to-date, surpassing $5,300 per troy ounce.
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Powell says Lisa Cook case is ‘perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history’
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday touted Fed governor Lisa Cook’s case before the Supreme Court as “perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history.”
“That case is perhaps the most important legal case in the Fed’s 113-year history,” Powell said, when asked why he attended the hearing last week. “As I thought about it, I thought it might be hard to explain why I didn’t attend.”
The case on whether President Trump could remove Lisa Cook from her role is considered a major test of the central bank’s independence and could reset precedent. Powell has also faced pressure after the Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into him and the Fed.
The Federal Reserve Act currently mandates that the president can only remove a Fed governor “for cause.”
On Jan. 21, the Supreme Court heard arguments over an emergency request from Trump to overturn an injunction blocking Cook’s removal. In comments during an interview in Davos with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized Powell’s appearance as overtly political.
“I actually think that’s a mistake, because if you’re trying not to politicize the Fed, for the Fed chair to be sitting there trying to put his thumb on the scale is a real mistake,” Bessent said during the interview with CNBC.
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Powell on Fed independence: ‘We haven’t lost it. I don’t believe we will’
Fed chair Jerome Powell reiterated why it’s important to maintain Federal Reserve independence in the US.
“Every advanced economy and democracy in the world has come around ot the this practice, ” said Powell. “If you lose that, it would be hard to restore the credibility of the institution.”
“We haven’t lost it. I don’t believe we will. I certainly hope we won’t,” he added.
The remarks follow a video Powell released earlier this month suggesting that a DOJ probe into his testimony on headquarters renovations is politically motivated and tied to the central bank’s monetary policy.
President Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates enough.
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Powell on DOJ probe: ‘I have nothing for you on that today’
Fed chair Jerome Powell did not want to answer questions related to the DOJ probe into his testimony over headquarters renovations.
“I have nothing for you on that today,” said Powell when asked whether the central bank had responded to grand jury subpoenas received earlier this month.
Powell had criticized the probe in a video released in January, insinuating it was politically motivated by the Trump administration for not caving to policy pressure.
The move to release commentary about the suspmotivations behind the subpoenas stunned Fed watchers.
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Federal Reserve keeps rates unchanged in 10-2 vote
The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, in a 10 to 2 decision.
Governors Chris Waller and Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a 25 basis point cut.
After cutting rates three times at the end of last year, investors had anticipated the Fed would hold rates steady at the conclusion of their two-day policy meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
Attention now shifts to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference, where markets will look for signals on when the central bank might lower rates again.
The press conference comes amid growing scrutiny of Fed independence, following Powell’s public criticism of the Trump administration earlier this month over a DOJ subpoena related to his testimony on headquarters renovations.
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JPMorgan, Bank of America announce $1,000 Trump account match as corporate America support for retirement scheme deepens
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With the Fed expected to hold rates today, the question is when to expect the next cut
Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger writes:
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Gold tops $5,300 as weak dollar ‘supercharges’ rally
Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferré reports:
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US dollar nudges up after Bessent voices support for strong dollar
The US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) ticked fractionally higher Wednesday after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated support for a strong dollar and said the US would not intervene in the currency market to boost the Japanese yen (^XDN).
Bessent told CNBC the US “always has a strong dollar policy.”
He said the US is “absolutely not” intervening to support the yen, which sent that currency tumbling Wednesday.
The commentary appeared to be an attempt to quell concerns after Trump said he wasn’t concerned about the recent slide in the US currency.
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US stocks pare early gains
Stocks pulled back from earlier gains late Wednesday morning as markets awaited the Fed’s policy decision later in the day as well as commentary from chair Jerome Powell on the state of the economy.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped back below 7,000 after crossing that level for the first time at the market open. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up 0.2% as chip stocks surrendered earlier advances, while the Dow (^DJI) remained above the flat line.
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Seagate soars as AI data center demand for storage rises
Seagate Technology (STX), which makes high-capacity storage drives for data center servers and consumer devices, saw its stock surge nearly 17% on Wednesday after the company reported third quarter revenue and earnings forecasts above Wall Street estimates.
CEO William Mosley told analysts in a post-earnings call Tuesday evening that the rise of agentic AI means “the stage is set for a sustained and meaningful increase in data generated and stored that will support inferencing.” In other words, the executive believes demand from data centers for storage — which accounts for the lion’s share of the company’s revenue — is set to jump.
Wednesday’s gain puts the stock up more than 50% over the past month, and shares have soared nearly 340% over the past year.
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Crypto rises ahead of Fed decision
Cryptocurrencies broadly rose Wednesday morning ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on interest rates later in the day.
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose 1.9%, ethereum (ETH-USD) added 2.9%, and solana (SOL-USD) put on 1.8%. XRP (XRP-USD) was up 1.4%, while BNB (BNB-USD) nudged 2% higher.
The central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady at today’s meeting, according to futures pricing tracked by CME Group. Investors are betting on odds the Fed will wait until around June to return to easing.
In broader crypto news, the industry is closer to seeing regulation that would further legitimize digital currencies, as the Clarity Act overcame a hurdle in the Senate this week.
Meanwhile, crypto stocks traded mixed Wednesday, with Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and Strategy (MSTR) trading around the flat line. PayPal sank 1%, while stablecoin issuer Circle (CRCL) rose more than 5%.
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Chip stocks rise as ASML earnings point to ‘sustainability’ of AI demand
Chip stocks jumped on Wednesday as Dutch chipmaking machine designer ASML (ASML) reported record orders ahead of Wall Street’s expectations.
Intel (INTC), which is set to benefit from AI data center demand for CPUs, saw shares jump nearly 9%, while memory chipmaker Micron (MU) surged nearly 4%. AMD (AMD) pared premarket gains to climb about 1%, and custom AI chipmaker Marvell (MRVL) rose over 1%.
ASML CEO Christophe Fouqet said in a call with analysts that the company’s customers — manufacturers like TSMC (TSM), Intel, and others — have started to “really believe in the sustainability of the AI demand.”
ASML shares reversed premarket gains and fell fractionally in morning trading.
Meanwhile, Nvidia (NVDA) stock added nearly 2%. In addition to the ASML news, China reportedly approved imports of 400,000 of the chip giant’s H200 GPUs for purchase by tech giants ByteDance, Alibaba (BABA), and Tencent (0700.HK).
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S&P 500 crosses 7,000, Nasdaq jumps ahead of Big Tech earnings
US stocks jumped at the market open ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision on interest rates and key earnings reports from Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA).
The S&P 500 moved up 0.3% to open above 7,000 for the first time, on the heels of an all-time closing high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed about 0.6%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) hovered above the flat line.
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Starbucks posts first quarter of US sales growth in 2 years as turnaround continues
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Amazon to lay off 16,000 employees, following plans to shutter Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh stores
Amazon (AMZN) is making major cuts to it workforce — again.
The e-commerce giant announced plans to eliminate 16,000 roles. Amazon executive Beth Galetti said in a blog post Wednesday morning that the cuts are intended to reduce layers, increase ownership, and reduce bureaucracy.
Last October, Amazon shared plans to cut its workforce by roughly 14,000. Galetti said on Wednesday that this is not part of a larger reduction to its workforce, emphasizing plans to continue to hire and “invest in strategic areas and functions that are critical to our future.”
“Some of you might ask if this is the beginning of a new rhythm — where we announce broad reductions every few months. That’s not our plan,” she wrote.
The cuts come after CEO Andy Jassy said in late 2024 that he wanted the company to “operate like the world’s largest startup.”
Amazon’s stock ticked higher ahead of the market open on Wednesday.
This announcement also comes after the company announced plans to close its Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores to focus on delivery services and expanding Whole Foods, which Amazon acquired in 2017.
“While we’ve seen encouraging signals in our Amazon-branded physical grocery stores, we haven’t yet created a truly distinctive customer experience with the right economic model needed for large-scale expansion,” the company said in the release.
According to sources close to the matter, Amazon plans to evaluate each store to see which locations can be converted into Whole Foods stores.
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AT&T bets on fiber, spectrum deals to forecast annual profit above expectations
AT&T’s (T) stock rose 4% during premarket hours on Wednesday after forecasting annual profit above analysts’ estimates. AT&T is betting on its wireless and fiber network expansion, which would allow the company to take advantage of the growing 5G and high-speed internet demand.
Reuters reports:
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