US markets end mostly higher after Fed holds steady on rates

30 Jan 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced its widely expected decision to leave interest rates unchanged. The Fed decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 percent, keeping rates unchanged for the second straight meeting after three straight quarter-point rate cuts. The accompanying statement was largely unchanged from last month, with the Fed noting that recent data indicates the labor market remains strong and that economic activity has been rising at a moderate rate. The central bank did describe household spending as rising at a moderate pace compared to last month's description of spending as rising at a strong pace. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that some of the uncertainties around trade have diminished following the signing of the phase one US-China trade deal. Powell noted that some uncertainties about the global economic outlook remain, however, with the Fed chief specifically pointing to the new coronavirus outbreak.

On the economic data front, pending home sales in the US unexpectedly showed a sharp pullback in the month of December, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). NAR said its pending home sales index plunged by 4.9 percent in December after jumping by 1.2 percent in November. Street had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.5 percent. A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale. The unexpected nosedive in pending home sales in December reflected notable decreases in pending sales in all four regions of the country. Pending home sales slumped by 3.6 percent in the Midwest and by 4.0 percent in the Northeast, while pending sales in the West and South tumbled by 5.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11.6 points or 0.04 percent to 28734.45 and Nasdaq added 5.48 points or 0.06 percent to 9275.16, while S&P 500 was down by 2.84 points or 0.09 percent to 3273.40.

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