Briefing · Todays Trend
Traders work after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the American Stock Exchange (AMEX) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2026. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images U.S. stock futures were little changed Thursday night, after the major averages rose following Wednesday's first Federal Reserve interest rate hike in three years. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 30 points, or 0.06%.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.08% and 0.15%, respectively. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 added over 1% while the Topix slipped 0.11%. South Korea's Kospi advanced 2.3% at open, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.89%.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.41% higher. U.S. markets are coming off a positive session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher by 316 points, or 0.6%.
The S&P 500 rallied 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.7%. Stocks posted a comeback one day after the Fed's decision to raise rates by a quarter percentage point — with the suggestion of at least one more rate increase this year — drove major market averages sharply lower Wednesday. But Thursday's rally — especially in technology stocks — implies many investors are looking past the prospect of a higher-for-longer rate, or inflation, environment, returning instead to an artificial intelligence story that should continue to bolster corporate profits.
"At some point, all cycles end," Brian Levitt, chief global market strategist at Invesco, told CNBC's "Closing Bell." "This one, I don't think it's going to end with the higher Fed funds rate necessarily anytime soon, or higher oil prices. It's going to end when something breaks in the AI trade, when, again, a hyperscaler pulls back on investment, or the market deems the amount of investment to be overdone compared to expected return on invested capital. But that's not the current environment that we're in." The week concludes Friday with more commentary from Fed officials.
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, a permanent voting member of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid, a non-voting member, are set to speak. Investors will look for greater clarity into policymakers' thinking behind Wednesday's unanimous vote for an interest rate hike. The major stock averages are on pace for a mixed week.
As of Thursday's close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 1.5% this week, on track for a third straight losing week. The S&P 500 was also lower week-to-date, by 0.3%. Only the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was set to enter Friday's trading showing weekly gains, up 0.3%. 15 Min Ago Mainland China and Hong Kong shares rise amid broad gains in Asian markets Mainland China and Hong Kong shares opened higher amid broad gains in Asian markets.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.65%, while mainland China's CSI 300 added 0.58% The gains in Hang Seng were led by basic materials and industrials sectors, up 1.84% and 0.72%, respectively. — Justina Lee 2 Hours Ago Japan's August inflation holds steady as BOJ set to announce rate decision Inflation in Japan held steady at 1.9% in August, ahead of a widely anticipated Bank of Japan policy rate decision today. Core inflation — which strips out prices of fresh food and energy — softened slightly to 1.7% from 1.8%, marginally missing expectations of 1.8% from economists polled by Reuters. The so called "core-core" inflation rate, which strips out prices of both fresh food and energy and is monitored by the BOJ, also stood unchanged at 1.9%.
The BOJ is widely expected to raise it policy rate by 25 basis points to 1.25% today, its highest since 1995. — Lim Hui Jie 2 Hours Ago Japan's Nikkei 225 gains 1% ahead of central bank rate decision Asia-Pacific markets traded higher early Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 added over 1% while the broader Topix was flat. South Korea's Kospi advanced 2.31%, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 0.89%.
Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 0.41% higher. —Justina Lee 3 Hours Ago Asia-Pacific markets set to open higher after Wall Street gains Asia-Pacific markets were set to open higher Friday, after U.S. stocks rose overnight on lower oil prices and a pullback in treasury yields. Futures for Japan's Nikkei 225 were trading at 64,880 in Chicago, while the Osaka contract last traded at 64,770, compared with the index's previous close of 64,136.25. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 24,667, compared with the index's last close of 24,604.29.
Futures for Australia's S&P/ASX 200 last traded at 8,815, while the index closed at 8,732.40. Concerns over energy supply disruptions eased after Saudi Arabia reportedly decided to make more crude cargoes available to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers near the Sohar port in Oman. That sent oil lower Thursday. —Justina Lee 4 Hours Ago The Nasdaq Composite on track to post winning week As of Thursday's close, here are where the major averages stand week to date.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 1.5% The S&P 500 was lower by 0.3% The Nasdaq Composite was higher by 0.3% — Sarah Min 4 Hours Ago Stock futures open little changed Stock futures opened little changed Thursday night. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 19 points, or 0.04%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures dipped 0.05% and 0.08%, respectively. — Sarah Min
Source: CNBC
