Wall Street’s three main stock indexes rose on Wednesday as investors digested Federal Reserve meeting minutes ahead of September inflation data and earnings reports, but Alphabet shares fell on fears the U.S. would break up Google.
Stocks held steady after the release of the Fed’s September meeting minutes showed a “substantial majority” of officials supported an outsized half-point rate cut.
There was broader agreement that the move would not commit the Fed to any particular pace of cuts in the future.
After the news, traders were slightly less optimistic about an easing in November, pricing in a 76 per cent chance of a 25-basis-point reduction in borrowing costs and a 24 per cent probability the Fed keeps rates on hold, according to CME’s FedWatch.
Shares in market heavyweight Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab were down 2.5 per cent after the U.S. Department of Justice said it may ask a judge to force Google to divest parts of its business.
These include its Chrome web browser and its Android operating system, to curtail its search monopoly.