On Thursday, following record highs reached on Wednesday, the major stock market indexes showed a pause in their momentum as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates. The Dow remained flat during afternoon trading, the S&P 500 saw a modest 0.6% increase, and the Nasdaq Composite experienced a gain of 1.2%.
Market analysts and participants are anticipating that the central bank will announce a quarter-point rate cut at 2 pm ET. This expectation is based on ongoing data indicating that inflation, which had surged to a four-decade high in 2022, is now hovering just below the Fed's target rate of 2%.
