Amid the decision to hold the benchmark interest rate steady at the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, the three major indices of the New York stock market closed mixed.
On the 30th (Eastern Daylight Time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 171.71 points (0.38%) at 44,461.28 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index fell by 7.96 points (0.12%) to 6,362.90, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 31.38 points (0.15%) at 21,129.67.
The Federal Reserve maintained the benchmark interest rate at 4.25% to 4.50% at the July FOMC meeting. U.S. President Donald Trump has been pressuring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for rate cuts, but the Fed opted for a fifth consecutive hold.
Powell dampened investor sentiment with a series of hawkish remarks. He stated about the uncertainty of tariff effects, "I still feel there's a long way to go," and regarding tariff-induced inflation, he noted, "There's a long way to go to fully understand how it will unfold."
Following such remarks, the stock indices reversed course and rapidly expanded their declines; however, due to late-session bargain hunting driven by performance expectations for Microsoft (MS) and Meta, the Nasdaq closed higher.
MS announced after the market close that its second-quarter revenue reached $76.44 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) at $3.65, both exceeding market expectations. Meta also reported revenue of $47.52 billion and EPS of $7.14, both higher than market expectations.