US PRE MARKET

The S&P 500 Futures is trading at 3,000.12 with a loss of -0.28% percent or -8.38 point. Other U.S. stock futures lower in pre-market trading for  September 19.The Dow Futures is trading at 27,070.00 with a loss of -0.27% percent or -73.00 point. The Nasdaq Futures is trading at 7,883.25 with a loss of -0.44% percent or -34.75 point.

THURSDAY’S FACTORS AND EVENTS

Markets gave a muted reaction to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) decision to lower the main interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.75%-2.00% range.

Fed President Jerome Powell said that ‘moderate’ interventions should suffice to overcome the economic weakness caused by trade disruptions and a slower global growth. ‘More extensive sequences of cuts’ would be considered, if needed.

A clear hawkish shift from the Fed presidents bummed Donald Trump and investors out. Trump reacted immediately, twitting that the Fed has ‘no guts, no sense, no vision’.

Jerome Powell downplayed the recent repo crisis, but lowered the excess reserve rate to 1.8% to release the pressure on short-term borrowing costs, and said that the Fed could ‘resume organic growth of balance sheet’, hinting that asset purchases may be down the road to remove the need for further repo operations.

 

WEDNESDAY’S ACTIVITY

For the day the Dow is trading at 27,147.08 up with + percent or +36.28 point. The S&P 500 is trading at 3,006.73 up with + percent or +1.03 point. The Nasdaq Composite is trading at 8,177.39 with a loss of – percent or –8.62 point.

Other leading market index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index closed at 1,568.34 with a loss of  – percent or –9.95 point; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index closed at 970.34 with a loss of – percent or –6.26 point; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index closed at 1,953.43 with a loss of percent or –6.06 point; the S&P 100 Index closed at 1,328.12 up with + percent or  +1.00 point; the Russell 3000 Index closed at 1,763.78  with a loss of   – percent or  –0.72 point; the Russell 1000 Index closed at 1,662.08 up with  or +0.016 point.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, In other parts of world, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading at 22,044.45 up with + percent or +83.74 point. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng is trading at 26,487.03 with a loss of – percent or –267.09 point. China’s Shanghai Composite is trading at 2,999.28 up with + percent or +13.62 point. India’s BSE Sensex is trading at 36,129.65  with a loss of – percent or –434.23 point at 12:15 PM.The FTSE 100 is trading at 7,366.57 with up  + percent or  +52.23 point. Germany’s DAX is trading at 12,421.17 up with + percent or +31.55 point. France’s CAC 40 is trading at 5,649.75 up with + percent or +29.11 point. The Stoxx Europe 600 is trading at 390.87 up with +0.37% percent or +0.37% point.