The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 200 points Wednesday morning, recovering some ground after a nine-day losing streak as investors braced for the Federal Reserve’s last interest rate decision of the year.
Following the announcement of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), expected at about 2 p.m. ET, Fed Chair Jerome Powell will discuss the economic outlook and the trajectory of monetary policy. The Fed’s decision and longer-term outlook could have a significant impact on the economic and financial landscape heading into 2025.
The CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which measures market expectations for Fed fund rate changes, expects a 25-basis-point rate cut. If that occurs, it would reduce the rate to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%.
In mid-morning trading, the Dow was up 238 points, or 0.5%. The Dow is on a nine-day losing streak, the longest since 1978. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.3% each.
Micron Technology (MU) will announce its quarterly results after the closing bell. Nvidia (NVDA) stock, which declined earlier this week, bounced back in the morning, up 3% to $134 per share.
