4:22pm: Nasdaq struggles
Stocks were mixed at Wednesday’s close after the Fed delivered a 25 basis point rate cut, as expected.
The Dow Jones added 0.6% at 46,018 points, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 6,600 points and the Nasdaq was down 0.3% at 22,261 points.
3:43pm: Proactive news headlines
- Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF) announced new assay results from its ongoing core drilling program at the Philadelphia Project in Arizona, including the highest-grade and thickest intercept reported at the property to date.
- Nano One Materials Corp (TSX:NANO, OTC:NNOMF) announced that Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd has confirmed Nano One as a key technology partner as it advances its growth strategy for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes.
- M2i Global (OTC:MTWO) announced the initial filing of its confidential registration statement on Form S-4 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the company’s proposed business combination with Volato Group, Inc (NYSE American: SOAR), a private aviation company.
- Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSX-V:GMG, OTCQX:GMGMF) announced the launch of its new global product catalogue, which includes graphene-enhanced lubricants and coatings.
- Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF) announced it has accelerated the launch of its event ticketing software solutions from the fourth quarter to the third quarter of 2025, with blockchain-based ticketing scheduled for rollout in Q4.
- Standard Uranium Ltd (TSX-V:STND, OTCQB:STTDF) reported that it has completed an initial tranche of its previously announced, non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$836,100.
2:52pm: Market movers
- Workday Inc (NASDAQ:WDAY) shares gained 9% to about $238 after activist investor Elliott Investment Management revealed that it has purchased a more than $2 billion ownership interest in the human resources software provider.
- Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:LYFT) shares popped after it announced a partnership with Waymo to introduce fully autonomous ride-hailing services in Nashville starting in 2026.
- Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) shares fell after Chinese regulators reportedly extended a ban on the country’s technology giants from buying AI chips from the US company.
2:35pm: Fed cuts interest rates
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points on Wednesday, marking its first cut of the year as policymakers weigh slowing job gains, elevated inflation, and rising risks to the labor market.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) reduced the target range for the federal funds rate to 4.00% to 4.25%, citing a shift in the balance of risks to its dual mandate of maximum employment and stable prices.
“Recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year. Job gains have slowed, and the unemployment rate has edged up but remains low,” the Fed said in its statement.
The decision was supported by all but one voting member. Newly appointed Trump pick Stephen Miran dissented, favoring a larger half-point cut.Chair Jerome Powell and 10 other officials voted for the quarter-point move.
Updated projections released alongside the decision indicate that most Fed policymakers expect at least two additional rate cuts this year, which would bring the benchmark rate down to a range of 3.50% to 3.75% by year-end.
Out of 19 participants, 10 forecast two more cuts, while nine anticipate only one further reduction.
The Fed’s so-called “dot plot” also suggests a slower pace of cuts in 2026 and 2027, converging toward a long-term neutral rate near 3%.
1:15pm: Gold shines
Gold’s climb has already taken it to Deutsche Bank’s old 2026 target of $3,700 an ounce, but the bank thinks the run has further to go. Its new call is for an average of $4,000 next year, with silver tipped to reach $45 from a previous $40.
Gold was changing hands for $3,718 per ounce on Wednesday afternoon, down 0.2%.
The firm's bullish case rests on several planks. The first is monetary policy. After three interest rate cuts this year, Deutsche’s economists see risks that the Federal Reserve will go further in 2026 rather than stop, despite its base case of holding rates steady.
That matters because lower US rates tend to weaken the dollar, and a softer dollar has historically been the strongest single driver of higher gold prices.
Second, central bank appetite remains extraordinary. Official demand for bullion is running at roughly twice the pace seen in the decade to 2021, with China responsible for much of the buying.
Deutsche estimates that demand could hit 900 tons in 2026, comfortably above trend. That has created a premium above “fair value” models that the bank thinks will persist.
Supply is not keeping pace. Recycling of old gold is running about 4% lower than expected this year, removing a potential brake on prices.
Meanwhile, positioning indicators are not stretched: exchange-traded funds still hold about 17 million ounces less than they did at the 2020 peak, and speculative futures bets are not extended on one- or two-year views.
11:52am: BoC delivers rate cut
The Bank of Canada (BoC) on Wednesday reduced its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 2.5%, citing the “weakening economy and less upside risk to inflation” in its decision.
The interest rate reduction, which was widely expected by economists, was the BoC’s first cut since March 2025.
Wells Fargo analysts expect another 25 bps cut to come at the BoC's December meeting, taking its policy rate to a cycle low of 2.25%.
"For now, we lean against the central bank delivering a back-to-back rate cut in October," the analysts wrote.
"From a broader perspective, however, we acknowledge that the balance of risks around our Bank of Canada outlook is likely tilted toward earlier or more monetary policy easing. Among the key upcoming releases, should September see yet another decline in employment, Q3 business confidence show a further softening, and September inflation show reasonably benign price pressures, that could be enough for the central bank to lower interest rates again in October."
10:55am: Calm before the cut?
Wall Street was mixed but calm ahead of the Fed's highly anticipated rate decision.
"Markets aren’t reflecting much nervousness as they await tonight’s Fed decision, as volatility drops again and the Dow reclaims 46,000 in early trading," IG chief market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.
"Equity markets continue to thumb their nose at traditional September weakness, at least on Wall Street, but the Dax has shown some signs of life after plunging to a four-month low yesterday."
According to Beauchamp, the Fed's dot plot and statement will dominate the narrative.
"Tonight’s cut isn’t going to be the real story. Investors want to know whether Powell will hint at more cuts to come; given labour market weakness that seems to be the most likely outcome," he said.
"A ‘hawkish’ cut, implying that no more reductions are likely soon seems to be a distant prospect, something investors can take comfort from as they watch Wall Street hover near record highs."
9:50am: Dow advances, Nasdaq retreats as Nvidia dips
Wall Street has opened in mixed fashion, with the Dow Jones skipping up 0.6%, while the Nasdaq slips 0.3% and the S&P 500 is just above flat.
Lifting the Dow are 1% gains for Walmart and Salesforce, along with Caterpillar and American Express.
Nvidia is exerting downward pressure, falling 1.6% on news of a new China chip ban.
Lyft jumped 10% after teaming up with Alphabet's Waymo to launch in Nashville. Waymo is also partnering with Uber to launch in Atlanta and Austin, Texas.
8:05am: Wall Street sitting on hands before open, Fed decision
New York stock futures were not giving much away on Wednesday morning, ahead of the Federal Reserve policy announcement at 2pm Eastern Time.
The Dow Jones was indicated 23 points or 0.05% higher, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were down less than 0.1%.
This follows a session that was also fairly tightly wrapped in pre-Fed mode, with the three main Wall Street indices all closing slightly in the red, with a 0.3% reverse for the Dow, while the S&P receded only 0.1% and the Nasdaq even less than that.
Nvidia is likely to weigh slightly, with its shares down 1.3% premarket after Chinese regulators reportedly extended a ban on the country’s technology giants from buying AI chips from the US company.
Ahead of President Trump's call with his counterpart Xi Jinping this Friday, China's Cyberspace Administration of China told companies, including TikTok owner ByteDance and e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, that they should stop testing and ordering AI chips that the US company makes for the country.
Elsewhere in US-China news, a consortium including Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake, under a framework deal revealed earlier this week, is being lined up to take over TikTok's US arm.
The dollar was battling back, with the DXY index up 0.2% at 96.8. WTI crude oil was dropping back from two-week highs, down 0.4% to $64.28 a barrel. Volatility levels remain restrained, although the VIX has picked up in recent days, up 1.2% to its highest in two weeks.
Negligible movements in stock futures reflected "calm before a possible storm", said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation, saying investors appear "reluctant to take on fresh exposure" ahead of the Fed’s rate call and updated policy outlook.
The CME’s FedWatch Tool is still attributing a 96% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut this evening.
"Traders also remain attentive to potential dissents, with two policymakers having broken ranks at July’s meeting, raising the risk of division once again," Morrison said.
Any changes to the FOMC’s “dot plot” since the last economic projections back in June will be key, he said, along with Fed chair Jerome Powell's press conference half an hour after the rate decision and FOMC documents are released.
"It seems quite likely that he will be quizzed about threats to the US central bank’s independence, given the Trump administration's attack on the institution, and its individual members. Analysts should also be on the lookout for any comments the Fed may make about its balance sheet."
In other news, one of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s has quit the company over the loss of independence imposed by its FTSE 100-listed parent, also launching an online petition to 'free' the brand.