By chuck mikolajczak

New York (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in dispersed order on Wednesday after the president of the Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, hoped for the hopes of a drop in imminent rates, after a meeting in which the American central bank maintained its monetary policy despite dissensions.

The Dow Jones index sold 0.38%, or 171.71 points, to 44,461.28 points.

The wider S&P-500 lost 7.96 points, or 0.12%, to 6,362.90 points.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced on its side of 31.38 points (0.15%) to 21,129.67 points.

The S & P-500 had marked a peak of +0.4% during the session before switching to the red. Only the Nasdaq progressed in the end.

In the press release published on Wednesday afternoon at the end of its monetary policy meeting, the Fed noted that the unemployment rate remained “low”, that labor market conditions remained “solid” and that inflation was still a little high.

For the first time in several decades, the decision to leave unchanged interest rates was made with two dissident votes, supporters of a decrease of 25 basic points, against the backdrop of repeated pressures by US President Donald Trump so that the Fed softens its monetary policy.

Light up before the press release from the US central bank, investors who praised economic growth in the second quarter in the United States higher than preliminary data, Wall Street fell after Jerome Powell said it was premature to decide on a potential drop in rates in September.

During the traditional press conference following the Fed press release, the boss of the institution added that current monetary policy was moderately restrictive and had not weighed on the economy.

“There were no big changes in the press release, which still shows concerns about the potential impact of customs duties (…),” said JP Powers, investment director at Rwa Wealth Partners, in Boston, adding that the Fed continued to monitor economic data.

By putting himself in the shoes of Jerome Powell, he said, he would lean for a slightly late rates rather than risking a revival of inflation by decreasing the rates in a premature manner, while the end of his mandate approaches (in May 2026).

According to LSEG data, traders now rely at less than 50% on a drop in rates in September, at the next Fed meeting. This scenario was privileged at around 68% for a time – between the press release from the Central Bank and the speech of its president.

A report published during the day shows that the US private sector has created more jobs than expected in June. Additional data on the American labor market are expected this week.

In addition, investors were preparing to scrutinize the quarterly results of several “Tech” giants, while Microsoft and Meta Platforms had to communicate their results after the fence. Will follow on Thursday after-closing, Amazon and Apple.

Note, among the values, Starbucks fell 0.2% despite quarterly sales over expectations.

VF Corp took 2.6% after beating Wall Street expectations for its quarterly turnover.

The fact remains that the question of customs duties still concerns the markets, Donald Trump having confirmed in the afternoon that the United States was going to carry 50% tax on products from Brazil, with however exemptions, and also impose customs duties of 50% on certain imports of copper.

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(Written by Jean Terzian)

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