US stocks end mixed as investors absorb Fed rate cut

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended mixed Thursday as investors digested the Federal Reserve’s quarter-point rate cut the previous day.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.34%, or 646.26 points, to close at 48,704.01.

The Nasdaq fell 0.25%, or 60.30 points, to 23,593.86, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.21%, or 14.32 points, to 6,901.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index," declined 5.83% to 14.85.

The Fed cut its policy rate by 25 basis points, as expected, to a range of 3.5-3.75% while stating that it would carefully examine incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks when assessing the scope and timing of further adjustments to interest rates.

The central bank kept its forecast for the federal funds rate steady at 3.4% for next year, signaling that an interest rate cut was expected in 2026.

On the corporate side, Oracle, which announced its balance sheet after the markets closed Wednesday, reported revenue below expectations.

Its financial results added a new dimension to the debate over how quickly technology companies' investments in artificial intelligence (AI) can generate revenue.

Oracle's shares fell 11%, putting pressure on the shares of other companies related to AI. CoreWeave's shares fell 1% and Nvidia's shares fell 1.5%.

Shares of The Walt Disney Company, which announced that it had reached an agreement with OpenAI on a content licensing partnership and would make a $1 billion capital investment in the company, rose 2.5%.

On the macroeconomic data front, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time in the US rose to 236,000 in the week ending Dec. 6, exceeding market expectations.

The US trade deficit fell 10.9% to $52.8 billion in September, its lowest level since June 2020.