In a pivotal day for investors, the Federal Reserve is set to announce its interest rate decision at 2 p.m. ET, followed by remarks from Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. ET. Market sentiment suggests a strong expectation for a rate cut, with Fed funds futures indicating a 100% certainty of at least a quarter-point decrease. Investors will be keenly attuned to Powell’s comments and the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections, especially the much-anticipated “dot plot,” which provides insights into future monetary policy direction. Attention will also be focused on whether any governors dissent from the majority opinion, particularly after Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman dissented during the last meeting in July. Additionally, Fed Governor Lisa Cook, recently cleared by an appeals court to participate, will be able to vote, as will newly confirmed Governor Stephen Miran.
Ahead of the Fed announcement, mortgage rates have dipped to a three-year low, although stock performance yesterday was lackluster, with major indexes still trading near their record highs.
In the tech sector, Microsoft has unveiled a substantial plan to invest $30 billion in AI-related infrastructure and operations in the U.K. This move coincides with a state visit by U.S. President Donald Trump and has been echoed by commitments from other tech giants, including Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, and Salesforce, amounting to over $40 billion in total investments focused on technological collaboration between the U.S. and the U.K.
On the financial front, StubHub is anticipated to debut on the public market today, pricing its IPO at $23.50 per share, which values the ticketing service at approximately $8.6 billion. This marks a significant milestone following two prior delays in the company’s public offering, linked to broader market conditions and policy changes under the Trump administration. StubHub will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “STUB,” joining a growing list of recent IPOs, including crypto platform Gemini and buy-now-pay-later service Klarna.
Meanwhile, Meta is set to launch new smart glasses during its Connect event, in a move seen as counterprogramming to the Fed meeting. Priced at around $800, these advanced glasses, known internally as Hypernova, are designed to integrate hand gesture controls via a wristband, representing a shift in Meta’s approach to virtual reality and metaverse technologies after substantial investments in the sector.
Lastly, regarding regulatory developments, President Trump has extended the deadline for ByteDance to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations until December for the fourth time. This latest extension follows reports of a framework agreement between the U.S. and China related to TikTok, which will see its U.S. arm owned by a consortium that includes Oracle and Silver Lake, with the deal expected to be finalized within the next month to a month and a half.
These market highlights set the stage for a day of significant financial developments as investors await crucial central bank decisions and corporate announcements.
