MARKET SNAPSHOT

The Dow Industrials rose, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped after the Federal Reserve cut rates for the first time this year. Treasury yields and the dollar rose after a brief slump that followed the Fed's expected decision to cut interest rates. Gold prices settled lower, but climbed after the Fed's rate cut. Oil futures snapped their winning streak.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter-point and released economic projections that suggested two further rate cuts in 2025. Markets rallied then ended mixed.

Chair Jerome Powell said in his comments starting at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday that the Fed remains "squarely focused" on balancing the risks to the economy from inflation and softening employment growth. He said the Fed remains "well positioned" to respond to economic developments.

"This feels like the Fed breathing a sigh of relief that inflation isn't going to get any worse than they thought a few months ago," said Omair Sharif, an economist at Inflation Insights.

The Dow industrials climbed nearly 0.6%. The S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower and the Nasdaq lost 0.3%.

Earlier Wednesday, Asian markets were mostly higher.

China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.4%, reversing earlier losses. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.8%. The tech-heavy ChiNext Price Index jumped nearly 2%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 1.8% higher.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average edged lower, slipping 0.2% amid weakness in insurance and utility stocks.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.7%.

Stocks in New Zealand were flat, as the S&P/NZX 50 Index held steady.

COMMODITIES

Oil futures gave back some gains made the previous three sessions on concerns about Russian supply disruptions.

There was little reaction to the 9.3 million barrel U.S.crude oil stock draw, which was largely on a jump in exports and lower imports.

"Today's price action appeared to suggest that this big shift in international crude trade could easily be reversed next week in prompting a sizable counter-seasonal crude supply increase," Ritterbusch said.

Oil slipped a little further following the Fed decision, with West Texas Intermediate settling down 0.7% at $64.05 a barrel and Brent dipping 0.8% at $67.95.

Most-active gold futures settled 0.2% lower ahead of the Fed's rate decision.

Futures briefly dipped after the Fed confirmed a quarter-point cut to the interest rate, going down as much as 0.4% before rebounding.

Analysts said that traders already priced in a quarter-point rate cut, and gold may be reacting to a dimmer view of the labor market going forward.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Fed Lowers Rates by Quarter-Point, Signals More Cuts Are Likely

WASHINGTON-The Federal Reserve approved a quarter-point interest rate cut Wednesday, the first in nine months, with officials judging that recent labor-market softness outweighed setbacks on inflation.

A narrow majority of officials penciled in at least two additional cuts this year, implying consecutive moves at the Fed's two remaining meetings in October and December. The projections hint at a broader shift toward concern about cracks forming in the job market in an environment complicated by major policy shifts that have made the economy harder to read.

Surge of Imports Into Southern California Ends

The tariff-fueled surge of cargo into America's busiest port complex is over.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in August handled 944,832 import containers, measured in 20-foot equivalent units. That is a big import volume in a normal year, but down 6.6% from a record in July when the Southern California ports handled more than 1 million boxes.

Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said he expects cargo volumes to fall further in September and October because retailers have brought in most of their year-end merchandise to get ahead of tariffs.

Housing Starts Declined More Than Expected in August

Home-building slumped last month, as mortgage rates remained high and amid an uncertain environment for building-materials prices.

Here are the main takeaways from the Commerce Department's report released Wednesday:

StubHub Stock Drops in Volatile Debut

StubHub shares dropped 6.4% in their NYSE debut Wednesday, making the ticketing firm's first trading day a rare laggard in a red-hot summer for IPOs.

Trading Wednesday values the New York company at around $8.1 billion. The shares, listed as STUB on the New York Stock Exchange, rose as high as $27.89 Wednesday afternoon before falling to close at $22. StubHub priced its initial public offering Tuesday at $23.50 a share.

That said, the company raised $800 million and has played up the opportunities opened by its aggressive approach to the event-ticketing market.

Chinese Officials Urge Firms to Shun Nvidia AI Chip

SINGAPORE-Nvidia was dragged further into the U.S.-China trade war after Beijing's top cybersecurity regulator urged big tech companies not to buy one of its newest chips.

The guidance from the Cyberspace Administration of China effectively blacklists Nvidia's RTX Pro 6000D chip, which is designed for industrial artificial-intelligence applications, people familiar with the move said. It is the latest in a string of actions targeting Nvidia, the world's most valuable company.

China is signaling that it doesn't need the less-advanced AI chips that the U.S. allows Nvidia to sell to Chinese customers, but it still wants Nvidia's top-of-the-line products.