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Wall Street Treads Carefully as Powell Dampens Hopes for Rate Cuts

By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta | 

September 24, 2025, 9:06 PM GMT+6 (Updated 1 hour ago)

"Wall Street remained cautious on September 24, 2025, following Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks that tempered expectations of a rate cut."

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• Indexes edged higher: Dow up 0.12%, S&P 500 gained 0.03%, Nasdaq rose 0.07%

• Lithium Americas jumps after report Trump administration weighing stake

• Alibaba jumps on Nvidia deal, new data center push

• Oracle shares slip after report of $15 billion bond sale plan

Sept 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street’s main indexes were little changed in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors weighed cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and looked ahead to key economic data later this week.

Despite signs of economic resilience, comments from Fed officials have stirred concerns about the labor market, leading traders to remain cautious.

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Powell struck a cautious tone on Tuesday, noting that asset prices seemed to be relatively high.

While other policymakers voiced differing views, the Fed chair underscored the delicate balance the central bank faces in setting upcoming interest rates—managing inflation risks while responding to signs of a cooling labor market.

“The market was a bit surprised by Powell’s remarks on stock valuations, interpreting them as a hint that the Fed may be wary of stretched asset prices,” said Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Capital.

He said, “Many managers who sold in April are still trailing their benchmarks, so any market weakness becomes a buying opportunity. I think you’re going to see more of that.”

At 10:20 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rose 54.27 points, or 0.12%, to 46,347.05. The S&P 500 (.SPX) added 2.36 points, or 0.03%, to 6,658.65, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 16.15 points, or 0.07%, to 22,589.62.

Wall Street Snapshot:

Banking gains, led by JPMorgan up 1.1%, pushed the Dow higher.

Shares of U.S.-listed Chinese companies climbed, with Alibaba surging 8.9% following a partnership announcement with Nvidia.

Lithium Americas soared 89.2% after reports that the Trump administration may take up to a 10% equity stake. Talks continue for a government loan exceeding $2.26 billion for the company’s Thacker Pass project, with General Motors shares up 2.4% amid a UBS upgrade to “buy.”

Other notable movers:

ServiceNow +2.9% after a Morgan Stanley upgrade.

Marvell Technology +3.9% following a $5-billion stock buyback announcement.

Micron Technology -1.7% post quarterly results.

Oracle -2.8% amid plans to raise $15 billion via corporate bonds.

Freeport-McMoRan fell 10.5% after lowering its Q3 copper and gold sales forecast.

Investors are now turning attention to the core personal consumption expenditures data, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, later this week.

Market breadth showed advancing issues outnumbered decliners by 1.17-to-1 on the NYSE and 1.36-to-1 on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 recorded 18 new 52-week highs and five new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite posted 58 new highs and 26 new lows.

Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai.

                                  Fed Rate Cut

Jerome Powell

                                  Stock Valuation

Wall Street

                             Interest Rate Policy

Economic Outlook

                                         Inflation

           Labor Market

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