Dow ends down, S&P 500 flat as Powell says December rate cut far from assured

Market Overview - Stocks initially rose after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points to a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%, marking the second rate cut this year [1][9] - The Fed also announced a restart of limited purchases of Treasury securities, while acknowledging decision-making limitations due to the U.S. federal government shutdown [1][9] Company Performance - Nvidia's stock increased by 3% to $207.04, achieving a market value of $5.03 trillion, and has risen over 50% this year, leading the AI rally on Wall Street [5][10] - Caterpillar reported a third-quarter profit that exceeded expectations, resulting in an 11.6% increase in its shares [6][10] - Meta Platforms experienced a decline of over 8% in extended trading after reporting a nearly $16 billion one-time charge that negatively impacted its third-quarter profits [6][10] - Microsoft shares fell by 1% following its quarterly report, while Alphabet's shares rose by approximately 5% due to strong AI demand [6][10] Earnings Results - Of the 222 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 84.2% surpassed Wall Street estimates, which is above the 77% average from the past four quarters [5][10] - The strong earnings results have been a key driver for equities, despite the temporary market reaction to Powell's remarks regarding future rate cuts [5][10] Market Dynamics - On the NYSE, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a ratio of 2.16-to-1, with 476 new highs and 170 new lows recorded [7][10] - The Nasdaq also saw a similar trend, with 1,453 stocks rising and 3,306 falling, resulting in a 2.28-to-1 ratio of declining issues to advancers [8][10] - Trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.71 billion shares, slightly below the 21 billion average over the last 20 trading days [8][10]