The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other indexes pared losses by the closing bell on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve did the expected and kept interest rates unchanged. Nvidia sank while Trump Media & Technology surged. And Apple sidestepped an analyst downgrade ahead of earnings on the stock market today.
Blue chips on the Dow trimmed losses to 0.4%, as the index dropped as much as 0.6% at one point. The S&P 500 traded 0.5% lower while the Nasdaq — down more than 1% at one point — whittled its deficit to 0.5% by the close. Each of the latter two indexes touched their 50-day moving averages but managed to climb above it by session's end.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq was lower compared with the same time on Tuesday. Decliners outnumbered advancers on both major exchanges — by more than 5-to-3 on the NYSE and nearly 3-to-2 on the Nasdaq.
Small caps on the Russell 2000 also pared losses, and finished the day 0.2% lower, while the Innovator IBD 50 exchange traded fund was virtually flat at the close after being down sharply earlier.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note ticked lower to 4.55%.
Powell Comments On Rate Changes; Apple Reverses
In keeping rates unchanged on Wednesday, Fed officials noted that economic activity had continued to expand and inflation remained somewhat elevated. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell noted elevated uncertainty from tariff and regulatory policy moves under President Donald Trump's administration.
"We don't know what the tariff is going to be," Powell said.
At the same time, he noted that the committee wants to see more progress on inflation. After reducing interest rates amounting to 100 basis points in 2024, the committee is not "in a hurry" to cut further, he added.
Elsewhere, as Apple headed into earnings, due on Thursday, analysts at Oppenheimer downgraded the stock to perform from outperform. But Apple stock, down earlier in the session, reversed and managed a 0.5% gain by the close.
Oppenheimer also slashed its sales and earnings forecast for 2025 and 2026 to below average estimates for lower iPhone sales. The brokerage also cited "stronger competition in greater China" and "lack of compelling Apple Intelligence and generative artificial-intelligence apps to accelerate near-term device replacement." Apple stock faces resistance at its 50-day moving average.
Elsewhere, State Street broke out from a flat base with a buy point of 101.91, although volume is below average. The relative strength line is at a new high. Shares have rallied since fourth-quarter results were announced Jan. 22, but the stock pulled back below its buy point on Wednesday.
Ameriprise Financial tested a buy point of 577 in a cup base. Fourth-quarter results are due Wednesday after the close. The stock holds a Composite Rating of 97 and Relative Strength Rating of 89. Volume is running 50% higher than average as the stock ventured closer to its entry.
2:46 p.m. ET
Magnificent Seven Companies To Report
Earnings from three Magnificent Seven companies will follow after the market close: Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Tesla. Of particular concern is Microsoft's spending after China artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek changed the AI playbook on Monday.
Trump Media & Technology soared nearly 7% after its board approved a financial services and financial technology strategy that will include an investment of up to $250 million in several assets that may include bitcoin. Those assets will be overseen by Charles Schwab, Trump Media said.
Also, Manhattan Associates triggered a sell signal and dived below the 50- and 200-day moving averages in one fell swoop. Volume was more than 1,000% higher than average. Shares dived after sales and earnings in the fourth quarter decelerated sharply.
12:27 p.m. ET
Dow Jones Stocks: Nvidia Retreats Again
Among other Dow stocks, Nvidia gave back some ground after the AI chip leader gained 9% on Tuesday. Shares remain below the 50-day moving average.
Also, Microsoft pulled back after rebounding strongly from the 50-day line on Tuesday. The software giant and Dow component plans to report its December-quarter results after the market close Wednesday.
10:39 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Magnificent Seven To Report
Meta and Tesla are due to report late Wednesday. Shares of Meta have rallied past a buy point of 638.40 and are near their all-time high. On Wednesday they pulled back just above a buy zone. Tesla fell below its 50-day moving average on the stock market today.
Meta is on IBD Leaderboard and electric-vehicle giant Tesla is on the Leaderboard watchlist.
Are These Magnificent Seven Stocks A Buy Now?
Alphabet | Amazon | Apple | Meta | Microsoft | Nvidia | Tesla
Stock Market Today: Earnings Movers
Wednesday's earnings movers included some tech and restaurant names, with a telecom services stock thrown into the mix.
Dutch lithography gear maker ASML held some of its gains after clearing an early entry at the 50-day moving average. Shares soared after the company reported a record fourth quarter but have pulled back to that level.
Earnings of $7.14 per share on sales of $9.66 billion beat estimates of $7.04 and $9.54 billion, respectively. The chip gear maker also guided higher than views for the current quarter, forecasting sales of $8.07 billion vs. analysts' consensus estimate of $7.59 billion.
However, the stock has some bearish chart indicators, including its 50-day line being below the 200-day moving average.
In restaurants, Starbucks and Chili's parent Brinker International both surged after strong quarterly performances. Brinker soared to a new high. Shares are extended from the 50-day line after a breakout in September.
Starbucks cleared a cup-with-handle's buy point of 103.32 as the stock surged. The relative strength line is rising sharply, although the Relative Strength Rating of 75 is still below the recommended threshold of 80. The Composite Rating also lags at 54.
F5 Gaps Up On Earnings
Earnings also boosted shares of F5. The cloud services provider beat FactSet estimates of $715 million in sales and earnings of $3.36 per share, reporting sales of $767 million and earnings of $3.84 a share. The stock has a Composite Rating of 93 and Relative Strength Rating of 90.
Shares had advanced ahead of the earnings report but pulled back to test the 21-day moving average before gapping up Wednesday.
Further, T-Mobile USA cleared its 50-day moving average on earnings. Sales of $21.87 billion and earnings of $2.57 per share were higher than estimates of $21.33 billion and $2.29 per share.
Shares are in a consolidation with a buy point of 248.15, while the relative strength line is rising sharply, showing the stock's outperformance compared with the S&P 500.
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