US open: Stocks mixed after Powell tempers rate cut hopes, Trump-Xi meeting in focus

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted that the central bank may not be looking to cut interest rates again at its December meeting.

As of 1410 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.40% at 47,822.40, while the S&P 500 shed 0.28% to 6,870.96 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.63% lower at 23,806.42.

The Dow opened 190.40 points higher on Thursday, more than reversing losses recorded in the previous session.

The Federal Reserve approved a second consecutive interest rate cut overnight, lowering its benchmark borrowing rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4.00%, though chair Jerome Powell unsettled markets by signalling uncertainty over a further move in December.

The decision was backed by a 10-2 vote from the Federal Open Market Committee, with Governor Stephen Miran favouring a larger half-point cut and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid preferring no change. The Fed also said it would end its quantitative tightening programme on 1 December.

While policymakers had previously indicated the potential for three cuts in 2025, Wednesday's statement offered no guidance on the December meeting. Powell cautioned against assuming another reduction was guaranteed, despite market expectations for further easing amid signs of labour market softness and slowing growth.

In the corporate space, attention was also on a flurry of earnings from so-called "Magnificent Seven" firms after the close, with Alphabet revealing quarterly revenues had topped $100bn for the first time, while Meta Platforms warned that expenses would be significantly higher in 2026 than this year, and Microsoft topped Q1 earnings estimates, boosted by solid cloud revenues.

In terms of Thursday's earnings, media giant Comcast topped Wall Street expectations with its third-quarter earnings and revenue on Thursday, despite continued subscriber losses in its core broadband and pay TV segments, while Mastercard also Mastercard beat Q3 expectations as sustained consumer spending boosted payment volumes, and Eli Lilly raised its full-year profit and revenue guidance as strong international demand for weight-loss drugs saw Q3 earnings come in ahead of expectations.

Still to come, Apple and Amazon were both slated to published their latest quarterly earnings after the close.

Traders were also eyeing a high-stakes meeting between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with Trump agreeing to cut fentanyl tariffs on Chinese imports to 47% from 57%. As part of the deal, Beijing will work to stop fentanyl making its way into the US and buy American-grown soybeans and other agricultural goods. China also delayed the latest curb on rare earth exports by twelve months.

However, concerns regarding the export of Nvidia chips and the TikTok divestiture remained unresolved and, while China's Ministry of Commerce said that it was willing to work with the US to "resolve issues related to TikTok", it also stopped short of providing any further details on the matter.

No major data points were scheduled for release on Thursday, with the Federal Government shutdown stretching into its 30th day, second only to the 2018-19 shutdown, which lasted a total of 35 days.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $72.23 1.26%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $271.52 0.67%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $529.63 -2.20%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $291.13 -0.22%

S&P 500 - Risers

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $146.35 10.95%

LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $32.31 7.56%

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $62.60 4.98%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $284.59 3.65%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $93.34 3.50%

Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $64.15 2.94%

Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $819.77 2.76%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $164.65 2.48%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.36 2.45%

Qorvo, Inc. (QRVO) $97.67 2.29%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $27.08 -5.42%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $379.14 -2.38%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $530.41 -2.20%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $204.18 -1.42%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $262.30 -1.23%

United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $95.31 -1.07%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $146.35 -1.02%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $224.55 -0.92%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.86 -0.85%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $140.09 -0.80%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $147.02 11.45%

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $22.89 8.69%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $288.95 5.24%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $11.70 5.17%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $98.14 3.27%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $93.07 3.20%

Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $64.18 2.98%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $80.49 2.22%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $163.90 2.01%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $240.22 1.90%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $27.08 -5.06%

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $123.50 -3.21%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $33.38 -2.84%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $530.41 -2.06%

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $453.08 -1.83%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $379.14 -1.77%

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $71.36 -1.53%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $204.18 -1.38%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $140.09 -0.92%

Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $117.76 -0.62%