- Indexes were mixed Thursday as investors struggled to regain footing after Wednesday’s big sell-off.
- The Dow rose just 15 points to narrowly break a 10-day losing streak, its worst in 50 years.
- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq dipped again, with attention turning to Friday’s PCE report.
Indexes continued to wobble on Thursday, ending the session mixed following Wednesday’s market rout after the Federal Reserve dialed back rate cut expectations for next year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points, ending barely higher after losing more than 1,100 points on Wednesday. The index, however, managed to break its longest losing streak in 50 years.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Thursday:
Bonds sank again. The 10-year Treasury yield was up seven basis points to 4.572% after jumping 13 basis points on Wednesday. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
The adjusted rate cut outlook also continued to weigh on crypto, bringing bitcoin below $100,000. The token fell almost 5% to $96,178.
The Fed dialed down its outlook for rate cuts next year from four to two, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell making note of the central bank’s renewed focus on inflation, which has proved sticky in recent months.
“We think that economic growth will be much stronger than the Fed expects,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, wrote in a note. “If real GDP growth beats the Fed’s expectations, as we expect, then the FOMC may be on pause for a while.”
Markets are now pricing in a 66% chance the Fed issues one or two more 25 basis point cuts next year, according to the CME FedWatch tool, though the odds of no cuts are rising, ticking up to 18.5% Thursday from 6.6% a week ago.
Here’s what else is happening:
- The Fed cut interest rates again but one key number shows why borrowers could still have a tough time in 2025
- The market plunge will trigger dormant sell signals if stocks don’t recover ‘dramatically,’ technical analyst warns
- Micron stock dropped 16% on warning of weaker demand for consumer chips
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1% to $69.86 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was down 1% to trade at $72.57 a barrel.
- Gold fell 1.6% $2,611.60 an ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield was up seven basis points to 4.572%.
- Bitcoin was down 4.7% to $96,178.
