September S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESU25) are up +0.84%, and September Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQU25) are up +1.10% this morning, pointing to a sharply higher open on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time since December and signaled more reductions could follow soon.
As widely expected, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates yesterday. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 11-1 to lower the target range for the Fed funds rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.00%-4.25%. Newly sworn-in Governor Stephen Miran was the only policymaker to dissent, favoring a larger half-point rate cut. In a post-meeting statement, policymakers said the unemployment rate had “edged up but remains low,” adding that “downside risks to employment have risen.” At the same time, officials acknowledged that inflation has “moved up and remains somewhat elevated.” Policymakers also updated their economic projections and now anticipate two more quarter-point cuts this year. They project one quarter-point cut in 2026 and another in 2027.
