Fed cuts 50 points, stocks fade
On Wednesday afternoon, the U.S. Fed’s Jerome Powell cut interest rates by 50 basis points, signalling the end of its inflation fight. The street had been split between 25 and 50 points. Markets initially rallied, but faded into the close. The three American indices and the TSX all finished down by roughly a third of a percent while the U.S. 10-year yield actually edged up to 3.7%.
Key movers on Wall Street: Intel -3.26%, Albemarle -3.6%, T-Mobile -2.97%, Nvidia -1.92% and Apple up 1.8%. Bitcoin slipped US$400 to US$59,730.
Only three TSX sectors were positive, health care by far, while materials and utilities led the laggards. Winners included Bausch Health by 11.78%, NFI Group 3.75% and BCE 3.34% after selling its stake in MLSE’s sports teams to Rogers. Losers included Aya Gold &Silver -4.51% and Silvercrest Metals -4.48%. WTI sank 1.6% to US$70 a barrel while gold slipped US$12 to $2,557.
💾 Intel (INTC-Q) -3.26%
⛏ Albemarle Corp (ALB-N) -3.6%
📱 T-Mobile US (TMUS-Q) -2.97%
💾 NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA-Q) -1.92%
🍎 Apple Inc (AAPL-Q) +1.8%
👨⚕️ Bausch Health Companies Inc. (BHC-T) +11.78%
⚙ NFI Group Inc (NFi-T) +3.75%
📱 BCE Inc. (BCE-T) +3.34%
⛏ Aya Gold & Silver (AYA-T) -4.51%
🥈 SilverCrest Metals Inc (SIL-T) -4.48%