Fed Cuts Rates; Two Officials Dissent

The Federal Reserve cut its policy rate 25 basis points to a 3.75%–4.00% range and signaled it will resume limited Treasury purchases and end quantitative tightening around Dec. 1. Chair Jerome Powell said the FOMC was sharply divided and warned a December rate cut is “not a foregone conclusion,” stressing policy will remain data‑dependent and that the federal government shutdown limits available information. Officials said the labor market appears to be gradually cooling while near‑term inflation risks have tilted to the upside, leading some policymakers to favor pausing to reassess. The decision drew dissent from two Fed officials, underscoring internal divisions as the committee pledged to collect more data before further easing. Markets reacted modestly — the Dow and S&P were little changed to slightly lower while the Nasdaq rose as Nvidia surpassed a $5 trillion valuation — and traders trimmed odds of a December cut from roughly 90% to about 71%. Investors are closely watching heavyweight earnings from Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet after a reporting season in which most firms have beaten expectations.