4:10pm: Momentum slows
US stocks finished mixed on Wednesday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s latest moves and comments from Chair Jerome Powell. The Dow Jones slipped 74 points, or 0.2%, to 47,632, while the S&P 500 barely budged at 6,891.
The Nasdaq bucked the trend, climbing 131 points, or 0.6%, to 23,958, and the Russell 2000 fell 26 points, or 1%, to 2,481.
The market’s earlier momentum faded after Powell signaled that a December rate cut is “far from” guaranteed, even as the Fed delivered a quarter-point cut on Wednesday. With key economic data on hold due to the government shutdown, the central bank is navigating what Powell called a “fog,” leaving investors guessing about the next move.
Attention now turns to earnings from the tech heavyweights. Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft kicked off reports after the bell on Wednesday, while Apple and Amazon are set to release their quarterly results on Thursday. Traders are bracing for another round of potentially market-moving numbers from the Magnificent Seven megacaps.
3:50pm: Proactive news headlines
- NextSource Materials extended its credit facility with Vision Blue Resources by up to US$10 million, boosting total potential funding to US$30 million to support its UAE battery anode project.
- Ceres Power Holdings shares surged 16% after UBS nearly tripled its price target to 350p, citing rising demand for its solid oxide fuel cell technology and improved financial prospects.
- Trust Stamp joined the Founders Arena WealthTech accelerator to expand its AI-powered privacy technology into wealth management, targeting fraud prevention for financial advisors.
- Northstar Gold announced private placements to fund permitting, engineering, and a pilot of Novamera’s Surgical Mining system at its Cam Copper Project in Ontario.
- NEXE Innovations received a repeat order for 250,000 compostable coffee pods from a North American distributor, following a prior shipment of 80,000 pods for three new SKUs.
- Medicus Pharma partnered with the Gorlin Syndrome Alliance to pursue FDA expanded access for its SKINJECT microneedle therapy to treat patients with Gorlin Syndrome-related skin cancers.
- Standard Uranium closed the final tranche of its private placement, raising total gross proceeds of C$3.34 million through the issuance of flow-through and non-flow-through units.
3:20pm: Market movers
- Nvidia Corp became the first company in history to surpass a $5 trillion market valuation as its stock jumped on continued AI-driven momentum.
- Fiserv shares plunged nearly 45% after its third-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of analyst expectations.
- Etsy beat third-quarter earnings estimates but reported declines in gross merchandise sales, active users, and announced CEO Josh Silverman’s transition to executive chair.
- Boeing’s third-quarter revenue rose 30% to $23.3 billion, topping expectations on higher commercial aircraft deliveries.
- Hemogenyx Pharmaceuticals PLC: Hemogenyx shares gained up to 8% after US regulators cleared its CAR-T therapy for leukaemia to advance to a higher dose in its Phase I trial.
- Ecora Resources shares climbed 9% after posting record quarterly earnings driven by strong copper and cobalt income and the restart of mining at its Kestrel royalty area.
- GSK shares rose 4% as the company raised full-year guidance and delivered forecast-beating quarterly results, bolstered by strong vaccine and specialty medicine sales.
- UBS shares gained 3% after reporting a 74% jump in quarterly profit to $2.5 billion, boosted by trading strength, wealth management gains, and released legal provisions.
3:00pm: No more 'Too Late Powell'
"Markets had priced in better than a 90% chance of a quarter-point cut, and the Fed delivered right on cue—no more “’Too Late’ Powell," Bolvin Wealth Management Group president Gina Bolvin said in reaction to the Fed decision.
"Now the spotlight shifts to the Magnificent Seven, with Meta reporting tonight. I’m optimistic. AI-driven capital spending and forward guidance from the Mag 7 will be the key catalysts moving markets in the near term."
2:10pm: Fed cuts rates
The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4% on Wednesday and said it will halt balance sheet runoff on December 1, marking the end of quantitative tightening.
The decision came amid a government shutdown that has delayed key inflation and jobs data.
Fed Governor Stephen Miran dissented in favor of a larger half-point cut, while Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid voted to keep rates unchanged.
Markets were somewhat muted in reaction, with the Dow Jones up 0.3%, the S&P 500 up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq sitting 0.5% ahead.
1:00pm: Canada gets rate cut
The Bank of Canada cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 2.25% on Wednesday, citing ongoing weakness in the economy and inflation near target, while signaling that the easing cycle could end if economic conditions evolve as expected.
The central bank said the Canadian economy faces a “difficult transition” amid trade-related structural challenges, with second-quarter GDP contracting 1.6% due to weak exports and business investment.
“US trade actions and related uncertainty are having severe effects on targeted sectors including autos, steel, aluminum, and lumber,” the Bank said in its statement. “Growth will get some support from rising consumer and government spending and residential investment, and then pick up gradually as exports and business investment begin to recover.”
The Bank projects GDP growth of 1.2% in 2025, 1.1% in 2026, and 1.6% in 2027, with gradual strengthening as exports and business investment recover.
12:00pm: Fiserv plunges
Fiserv (NYSE:FI) shares plunged almost 45% after the global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions reported disappointing financial results for the third quarter of 2025, with both earnings and revenue coming in below analyst expectations.
The company reported Q3 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.04, falling short of the $2.65 expected by analysts.
Revenue for the quarter totaled $4.92 billion, missing the anticipated $5.36 billion.
Fiserv also revised its full-year 2025 guidance, projecting adjusted EPS in the range of $8.50 to $8.60, compared with analyst expectations of roughly $10.07.
11:10am: Nvidia at new record
Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) has become the first company in history to reach a market value above $5 trillion, extending its lead as the biggest beneficiary of the global artificial intelligence boom.
Shares of the chipmaker jumped as much as 3.4% at the market open, lifting its market capitalization past the $5 trillion mark for the first time. The stock was last up around 4% at nearly $209.
The milestone came after comments from US President Donald Trump ahead of a planned meeting with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang boosted optimism about the company’s growth prospects in China. Trump told reporters he and Huang would be “speaking about Blackwells,” Bloomberg reported, referring to Nvidia’s next-generation AI chips. A version of those chips could potentially be approved for export to China.
The world’s most valuable company, Nvidia has seen its shares surge more than 180% so far this year as demand for its AI processors continues to outpace supply.
10:35am: AI optimism, Fed easing fuel rally
The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are all at fresh record highs on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 surpassing the 6,900-point mark as investors ride a wave of enthusiasm around artificial intelligence and easing monetary policy.
“Investors are experiencing one of the most commanding momentum-driven markets since the Internet,” said Eric Teal, Chief Investment Officer for Comerica Wealth Management in Charlotte, North Carolina. “The AI innovation is viewed as transformative, and the market’s forward multiple is reflective of this optimism, topping 23 times.”
Teal noted that technology stocks have powered roughly 60% of the market’s returns and most of its earnings growth so far this year. He added that the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle is serving as an additional catalyst for valuations, while signs of broader market participation are emerging.
“Thus far the gains in margins and productivity have been isolated within the technology vendors,” Teal said. “The broadening out of the market and outperformance of small-cap companies in the third quarter and October suggests the benefits are expounding.”
9.55am: Nvidia leads Nasdaq and Dow higher
Wall Street's main stock indices have started higher, led once more by the Nasdaq, up 0.6% in initial trades to further intraday highs.
A 4.2% gain for Nvidia took its valuation over $5 trillion, following a five-day rise over 16% on the back of a succession of deals and hopes over a restart of Chinese exports.
The Dow Jones rose 0.55% and the S&P 500 0.3%, also to new intraday records.
Going the other way again, the small- and mid-cap Russell 2000 dropped 0.5%.
Caterpillar was the top riser on the Dow, as the construction equipment company beats estimates thanks to higher sales from its energy segment.
Top of the S&P leaderboard were Teradyne and Seagate Technology, up over 16% and 12% respectively on strong quarterly results.
8.15am: Stocks set for more record highs as Nvidia surges, 'proceed with caution' warning
US stocks are expected to climb to further heights on Wednesday, ahead of a key round of big tech earnings and an expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
Futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 0.5%, while those for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones gained 0.3% and 0.1% respectively.
This followed a session where all three indexes again broke new ground, with the Nasdaq the driving force, climbing 0.8% to 23,827 as Nvidia was joined by Microsoft and, briefly, Apple in the $4 trillion club.
A suite of new partnerships and deals from Nvidia with the likes of Nokia, Palantir and the US government was a key catalyst, lifting its shares almost 5% and its valuation closer to $5 trillion. The Dow rose 0.3% to 47,706 and the S&P 500 added 0.2% to 6,891,
In pre-market trading on Wednesday, Nvidia was up another 3.4% after Donald Trump talked up the chipmaker’s artificial intelligence processors ahead of his meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping tomorrow.
The US President said he will discuss the "super duper" Blackwell artificial intelligence processors with Xi, having said in the summer that he would consider allowing a downgraded version of the chip to be exported to China.
In August, Nvidia and fellow chipmaker AMD agreed to give the US government 15% of their revenue from advanced chips sold to China in return for export licences to the key market.
At 2pm ET, investors will hear the Fed's latest policy decision, where markets have already priced in a 25 bps rate cut, with the same expected in December.
What the market also wants to hear, said market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth, "is what are they planning on doing in the new year".
With the market already expecting ongoing cuts in early 2026, they just want to hear when Fed head Jerome Powell thinks they will happen.
"Will it be January and March or will it be later in the spring/summer? Again – it’s all about the guidance and he is not expected to offer much in terms of clarity."
Polcari also highlighted the disparity in the gains on the Nasdaq and the S&P with a decline in the Equal Weight S&P, lost 70 points on Tuesday.
"That is key," said Polcari. "Consider what the market is telling us when the S&P ends the day up 0.25%, yet the Equal Weight S&P loses 1%.
"Just to be clear – when we see such a divergence in the S&P versus the Equal Weight S&P it suggests extreme concentration in market gains – driven almost entirely by a handful of mega-cap stocks, while the vast majority of the index loses value.
"The bottom line is this: gains were not broad based – they were concentrated in ‘a few AI/tech titans’ while the rest of the market was weak and that just might be a bit of a warning flag to proceed with caution."
After the closing bell today, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta Platforms will report earnings.