Today At A Glance:

The Fed cut rates by 25 bps to 3.75%–4.00%, but Chair Powell soft-pedaled the odds of a December follow-up, and stocks ended mixed after a choppy post-presser tape. The Nasdaq pushed to another record on AI strength, led by Nvidia cresting the $5T market-cap milestone intraday. The S&P 500 finished essentially flat, while the Dow slipped as traders faded parts of the post-cut bounce. Energy was firm on earnings beats, while some staples and select industrials saw sharp cross-currents. Rate-sensitive pockets wobbled as futures trimmed the probability of another 2025 cut.

Today’s Index Performance:

• Dow Jones Industrial Average — The Dow opened today at 47,746.80 and closed today at 47,632.00, with the percentage change of −0.16% versus yesterday’s close.
• S&P 500 — The S&P 500 opened today at 6,910.95 and closed today at 6,890.59, with the percentage change of approximately −0.00% (down 0.30 points).
• Nasdaq Composite — The Nasdaq opened today at 23,987.30 and closed today at 23,958.47, with the percentage change of +0.55%, a record closing high.

Gainers Of Note:

• Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) – Heavy equipment & power systems; surged ~10–12% on a clean beat and upbeat commentary tied to data-center/AI-power demand and resilient construction/end-markets.
• Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) – Storage hardware; jumped ~15–17% after a strong quarter and guidance, with AI-linked enterprise demand lifting the outlook.
• Teradyne (NASDAQ: TER) – Test & robotics; rallied ~15%+ on a beat/raise and AI-driven semi test demand.

Losers Of Note:

• Fiserv (NYSE: FI) – Payments/fintech; fell after missing profit and sales forecasts and trimming forward guidance alongside leadership changes.
• Enphase Energy (NASDAQ: ENPH) – Solar microinverters; slid on weaker revenue guidance and cautious installation trends.
• Boeing (NYSE: BA) – Aerospace; dipped after headlines around a sizeable charge tied to 777X timelines pressured sentiment.

Active Traders Of Note:

• Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) – AI semis; heavy volume as shares briefly vaulted the $5T market-cap mark, underscoring AI leadership into Big Tech earnings.
• Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) – Software/cloud; brisk trading ahead of post-close results, with the name hovering near a $4T valuation.
• Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) – Search/cloud/AI; active into results as investors focused on AI capex, Search durability, and Cloud margins.

Looking Forward:

Powell’s “not a foregone conclusion” tone keeps the path of December policy fluid; expect data-dependent chop with outsized, single-stock reactions around megacap prints. If AI-capex and cloud demand commentary stays firm, tech leadership can persist—even with fewer cuts priced in. Watch for any follow-through in industrials tied to power generation and data-center build-outs and whether solar/housing can stabilize after guidance resets.

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