US Market Today: Microsoft, Meta Profit Lift Nasdaq to register level; Inflation Uptick Dims Fed Rate Cut Hopes – Times of India

Wall Street stood up on Thursday, led by a strong rally in Microsoft and Meta platforms, because optimism about artificial intelligence and solid income pushed large indices in the direction of new record heights. The concern about inflation data and the shifting rate policy of President Donald Trump, however, kept the investor sentiment carefully for the next meeting of the Federal Reserve.The Nasdaq composite climbed by 0.8%, on the way to a new record, while the S&P 500 added 0.2%, just shy of its all-time high set earlier this week. The industrial average of Dow Jones was exchanged eastern, AP reported around 11 am.Meta rose by 11.2% after it had defeated Wall Street’s expectations about both turnover and profit, powered by strength in the advertising company and large-scale AI investments. Microsoft rose by 4.4%and followed better than expected results and a strong performance update on his Azure Cloud platform, a cornerstone of his AI route map.Apple and Amazon were planned to report the income after the market. Large technology companies have been consistently market factors this year and are driving enthusiasm around generative AI on investors.Outside Tech increased CVS Health by 3.3% after increasing his prediction on the entire year, an income beat for the second quarter.Inflation -increase in inflation and tariff tensions remain in the spotlightMarkets consumed fresh economic data, including an increase of 2.6% in the index of the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) in June – the preferred measure of the FED – an increase of 2.4% in May. The core PCE, which excludes food and energy, also rose 2.8%, which marked a potential headwind to the hope.In the meantime, the unemployment claims have been collected and new inflation pressure is still being linked to Trump’s entrance decisions. Companies such as Ford and Hershey have marked the tariff effects on profitability, which contributes to the unrest of companies.The latest movements of Trump include a rate of 50% on Brazil, directly linked to the process of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a tariff agreement with South Korea. He has threatened similar levies on goods from several countries, unless agreements are reached on Friday. Unpredictability in trade policy has led to concern about inflation persistence and the introduction of inactivity.Fed has rates in the midst of uncertaintyThe Fed left the interest rates unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting on Wednesday. Chairman Jerome Powell repeated that although inflation is close to the goal of 2%, persistent upward pressure and rate-linked uncertainties continue to exist. Since then, markets have reduced the expectations of an interest rate reduction of September – CME Group data now placed the opportunities at 39.2%, a decrease of 58.4% a week ago and 75.4% a month ago.The proceeds on US government bonds have fallen somewhat, with the 10-year treasury to 4.34% of 4.37%, and the 2-year note fell to 3.92% of 3.94%.