The Federal Reserve announced its decision, major assets fluctuated, U.S. stocks were mixed, U.S. Treasury yields ultimately rose, and gold fell

On Wednesday, September 17 local time, the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision, lowering rates by 25 basis points as expected, acknowledging a slowdown in the labor market.

After fluctuations, U.S. stocks showed mixed results, with the Nasdaq 100 at one point down 1% intraday, but later recovered most of its losses, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose; U.S. Treasury yields fluctuated before rising, recovering losses since the Federal Reserve announced the 25 basis point rate cut; gold fell after volatility; the dollar briefly dipped before rising, significantly higher than before the announcement; digital currencies experienced minor fluctuations, with Bitcoin and Ethereum showing varied performance over 24 hours.

Before the Federal Reserve's Decision Announcement

Before the Federal Reserve's September statement was released, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices were down intraday, while the Dow Jones and Russell small-cap indices were up intraday, and the dollar index saw a slight increase:

• The S&P 500 index fell 0.15%, the Dow Jones rose 222 points, an increase of 0.49%, the Nasdaq fell 0.45%, and the Russell 2000 index rose 0.65%. The biotechnology index fell 0.77%, the semiconductor index fell 0.31%, and the banking index rose 0.95%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index rose 2.08%, showing significant outperformance compared to the broader market with narrow fluctuations at high levels throughout the day.
• The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond rose 1.9 basis points to 4.0470%.
• The dollar index rose 0.06% to 96.71 points. The dollar fell 0.16% against the yen, rose 0.15% against the Canadian dollar, rose 0.13% against the Swiss franc, fell 0.10% against the euro, rose 0.13% against the pound, and fell 0.24% against the Australian dollar.
• Spot gold fell 0.1%, currently at $3,875.74.

After the Federal Reserve's Decision Announcement

At 2 PM local time on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision, lowering rates by 25 basis points as expected, with a cumulative rate cut of 50 basis points anticipated for the year. Federal Reserve officials expect to cut rates by 25 basis points once each in the next year and the year after.

After the Federal Reserve's statement was released, traders increased their bets on rate cuts:

• The S&P 500 index turned to rise briefly, with the Dow Jones up 380 points.
• U.S. housing developer stocks rose during the session, with interest rate-sensitive sectors climbing. The S&P Composite 1500 Housing Construction Index rose 3%, with component stocks Dream Finders Homes up 6.3%, Century Communities up 5.6%, LGI Homes up 5.4%, M/I Homes up 4.8%, and KB Home up 4%.
• The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond quickly dropped from 4.04% to below 4.01%, with the decline further expanding, falling about 4 basis points and dipping below 3.99%, reaching a new low since April. The yield on the two-year Treasury bond briefly dropped from around 3.54% to near 3.46%.
• The Bloomberg Dollar Index hit a new low for 2025. The dollar index fell 0.2% to 96.46 points. The offshore yuan rose to 7.0851 against the dollar, with an intraday increase of 0.27%.
• Gold prices fluctuated sharply between $3,696.67 and $3,654.44.

However, the rebound in U.S. stocks did not last long. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq subsequently fell again, refreshing their intraday lows, but the declines narrowed before Powell's press conference. Overall, the market showed a clear volatile trend In terms of U.S. Treasury yields, the decline immediately after the FOMC statement has somewhat recovered. Gold has retraced the gains made after the FOMC statement.

Some analysts pointed out that the Federal Reserve is expected to only cut interest rates once in 2026, which is more conservative than market expectations. Therefore, the market's dovish reaction following the FOMC statement did not last long.

During Powell's Press Conference

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stated that the calls for a 50 basis point rate cut at this meeting were not high, and the revision of employment data indicates that the labor market is no longer stable. After the start of Powell's press conference, major assets exhibited a more hawkish trend:

• The intraday decline of the Nasdaq 100 index reached 1%, the S&P 500 fell 0.6% intraday, and the Dow Jones narrowed its gain to 53 points.
• The yield on the U.S. two-year Treasury bond rebounded above 3.54%, completely recovering the losses since the Federal Reserve announced a 25 basis point rate cut, forming a sharp V-shaped reversal in the short term. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury bond rose to 4.0776% at 02:54 Beijing time, hitting a new intraday high.
• The 2/10 year U.S. Treasury yield spread remained flat at around +52.180 basis points. It briefly plunged to +47.907 basis points at 02:00 Beijing time, then rebounded, rising to +53.903 basis points after Powell's press conference began, refreshing the intraday high.
• Spot gold fell 0.81%, reported at $3,660, after rising to nearly $3,710 following the decision statement, and then dropped to $3,646.28 at 03:00 Beijing time, refreshing the intraday low.
• In terms of Chinese-related assets, the onshore RMB against the U.S. dollar (CNY) closed at 7.1057 yuan at 03:00 Beijing time, up 85 points from Tuesday's night session close. The Hang Seng Index main contract closed down 0.31% at 26,829 points; the Hang Seng Tech Index main contract closed down 0.35% at 6,309 points.

Major Asset Trend Charts

The following chart shows the trend of the S&P 500 index:

The following chart shows the yield on the 2-year U.S. Treasury bond:

The following chart shows the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond:

The following chart shows the trend of the U.S. dollar:

The following chart shows the trend of gold:

The chart below shows the trend of Bitcoin: