Tech Stocks Slip, Small Caps Soar Ahead Of Fed Rate Decision: What's Moving Markets Wednesday?

Small-cap and blue-chip stocks advanced in Wednesday morning trading on Wall Street, while technology names lagged and the S&P 500 hovered near record levels as investors braced for the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

The Federal Open Market Committee will announce its policy move at 2:00 p.m. ET, with markets fully pricing in a 25-basis-point cut that would lower the federal funds rate to a 4.00%-4.25% range. Alongside the decision, the Fed will release fresh quarterly projections outlining policymakers' views on growth, inflation, the labor market, and the likely path of rates.

At 6,600, the S&P 500 remained steady near all-time highs. Yet history offers a cautionary note: over the past 25 years, the index has typically dipped modestly in the 30 days following a rate cut, reflecting the fact that investors tend to anticipate such moves well in advance.

AI-linked leaders bore the brunt of Wednesday's selling. Nvidia Corp. NVDA, Broadcom Inc. AVGO, and Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR each dropped more than 3% after reports that China had barred domestic firms from buying Nvidia's AI chips.

By contrast, small caps rallied, with the Russell 2000 jumping 1% to its highest level since early December 2024.

In commodities, gold slipped 0.1% to $3,685 an ounce after touching a record $3,700 on Tuesday. Silver fell 1.2% to $42, while oil edged 0.3% lower to $64.30 a barrel. Bitcoin BTC/USD retreated 1% to $115,580.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO slipped 0.2% to $605.71.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.6% to $461.32.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ eased 0.5% to $588.30.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM rose 1% to $240.54.
• The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP outperformed, up 1%; the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK lagged, down 0.7%.

S&P 500’s Top 5 Gainers On Wednesday

S&P 500’s Top 5 Losers On Wednesday

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