It was a down market all day with the Dow plunging over 200 points by 3 pm, then recovering 200+ in the final hour to close 36 points up.  The Fed did the expected by issuing another ¼ point rate cut but left investors in a muddle over future moves until Powell clarified the position later in the afternoon sparking the rally by suggesting that future policy could be “aggressive” if necessary.  Otherwise, it’s status quo which was confirmed by the slightly below average volume of 6.7 billion. 

Wed  SEPTEMBER 18, 2019 / 5:04 pm 

S&P 500 ends slightly higher after Fed gives mixed signals

Noel Randewich

DJ:  27,110.80  +33.98       NAS:  8,186.02  +32.47         S&P:  3,005.70  +7.74       9/17

DJ:  27,147.08  +36.28        NAS: 8,177.39  -8.62            S&P:  3,006.73  +1.03       9/18

(Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended marginally higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve policymakers cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, but gave mixed signals about their next move.  With continued economic growth and strong hiring “the most likely outcomes,” the Fed nevertheless cited “uncertainties” about the outlook and pledged to “act as appropriate” to sustain the expansion.  New projections showed policymakers at the median expected rates to stay within the new range through 2020, bad news for investors hoping for additional cuts to help blunt global economic fallout from the U.S.-China trade war.

Stocks sold off immediately after the Fed’s announcement but rebounded during Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference. He told reporters the Fed was prepared to be “aggressive” if necessary.  “He did a very good job conveying the view that this was a mid-cycle adjustment, but that obviously the Fed is ready to act if it needs to do more,” said Mike O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading.  The late-session rebound could be partly the result of short sellers covering their positions after the earlier dip, O’Rourke said.

Of the stock bounce, Cherry Lane Investments partner Rick Meckler said, “The bottom line is (Powell) didn’t say anything that negative. You think about what he presented, it’s status quo. People thought about it, they thought about the fact that rates are going lower, that normally is supportive for stocks.”  Expectations of lower rates have supported Wall Street's rally this year, with the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX up almost 20% year to date and about 1% below its record high close in July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.13% to end at 27,147.08 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.03% to 3,006.73.  The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.11% to 8,177.39.  Six of the 11 major S&P sectors climbed, led by a 0.5% increase in the S&P utilities index .SPLRCU and a 0.4% rise in the financial index .SPSY. 

The interest-rate sensitive S&P 500 banks index .SPXBK rose 0.7%.  The central bank also widened the gap between the interest it pays banks on excess reserves and the top of its policy rate range, a step taken to smooth out problems in money markets that prompted a market intervention by the New York Fed this week.

FedEx (FDX.N) shares tumbled 12.9%, posting their deepest one-day percentage drop since the financial crisis after the company blamed U.S.-China trade tensions and a split with Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) for its dismal full-year profit forecast.  Roku (ROKU.O) slumped 13.7 after Comcast (CMCSA.O) said it will offer its own streaming media set top box for free to its U.S. internet-only customers.  Beyond Meat dropped 3.9 after Restaurant Brands International Inc’s (QSR.TO) Tim Hortons cut the faux meat maker’s burgers and sandwiches from its menu in most Canadian provinces, months after a nationwide roll-out at the breakfast chain. 

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.21-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.52-to-1 ratio favored decliners.  The S&P 500 posted 19 new 52-week highs and 1 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 42 new highs and 38 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 6.7 billion shares, compared with the 6.9 billion-share average over the last 20 trading days.