Wall Street’s main indexes jumped in volatile trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s highly anticipated half-point rate cut first interest rate cut in more than four years.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high of 41,981.97. It recently climbed 196.36 points, or 0.5%, to 41,798.
The blue chip index closed at record on 41,622.08 on Monday.
The S&P 500 gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq advanced 0.8%.
Borrowing costs have stayed at their highest levels in over two decades since July 2023, when the central bank last hiked interest rates by 25 basis points to between 5.25% and 5.50% to combat inflation. But the focus recently has moved to a moderating labor market.
Mixed economic indicators over the previous one month have made investors nervous ahead of the least-predictable Fed decision in years.
Markets have rallied this year, with all three major indexes setting record highs on prospects of lower interest rates as inflation moderated and the jobs market showed gradual signs of cooling.
