Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Fed Signals Rate Cuts, Markets Respond with a Sharp Rally

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The three major New York Stock Exchange indexes bounced back on Wednesday after a one-day decline.

Markets, which had plunged while awaiting the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting results, rebounded just a day later.

While the Nasdaq didn’t fully recover its losses, the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more sharply than their previous declines.

Tesla and NVIDIA also rebounded, but not enough to offset their previous losses.

All seven major tech companies reversed their downward trend within a day.

All Three Indexes Rebound

The three major indexes bounced back after just one day.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq surged 246.67 points (1.41%) to 17,750.79, while the broad-market S&P 500 jumped 60.63 points (1.08%) to 5,675.29.

The Dow, comprising 30 blue-chip stocks, closed up 383.32 points (0.92%) at 41,964.63.

Although the Nasdaq dropped 1.7% the previous day and didn’t fully recover, the S&P 500 and Dow posted gains exceeding their previous declines of 1.06% and 0.62%, respectively.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street’s “fear index,” dipped below the key 20-point level for the first time this month, falling 1.80 points (8.29%) to 19.90.

The Fed Put in Action

Markets reaped significant benefits from the Fed’s stance.

The “Fed put”—the expectation that the Federal Reserve would stimulate markets through rate cuts during tough times—played a crucial role.

While maintaining interest rates at 4.25-4.50%, the Fed’s “dot plot” projected two 0.25 percentage point rate cuts this year, two more next year, and one in 2027.

The overall tone remained positive despite raising inflation forecasts and lowering economic growth projections, hinting at stagflation concerns.

In his post-FOMC press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies increase uncertainty and may “delay” inflation’s decline but emphasized the U.S. economy’s resilience.

Tech Giants All Rise

All seven major tech stocks rebounded after falling the previous day.

Tesla led the rise, surging $10.55 (4.68%) to $235.86.

NVIDIA saw delayed positive effects from CEO Jensen Huang’s keynote at the GPU Technology Conference (GTC), climbing $2.09 (1.81%) to $117.52.

However, neither Tesla nor NVIDIA’s gains were enough to fully offset their previous day’s losses of 5.33% and 3.43%, respectively.

Apple’s stock rose $2.55 (1.20%) to $215.24, while Alphabet’s jumped $3.61 (2.22%) to $166.28.

Microsoft gained $4.30 (1.12%) to $387.82, and Amazon closed up $2.72 (1.41%) at $195.54.

Meta Platforms also increased $1.70 (0.29%) to $584.06.

Boeing Soars, Gilead Stumbles

Boeing, a global aerospace company, rocketed $11.05 (6.84%) to $172.62.

The surge followed CFO Brian West’sremarks at the investor conferences about slowed cash burn and improved factory operations this quarter.

Boeing also expressed optimism about the minimal impact of Trump’s tariffs.

Conversely, biotech firm Gilead Sciences took a hit from Trump administration policy shifts.

The U.S. Department of Health’s announcement of funding cuts for domestic HIV prevention directly impacted Gilead, a major supplier of HIV and AIDS medications.

Gilead shares tumbled $2.72 (2.47%) to $107.51.

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