Dow Jones closes at record level, markets foresee big rate cut

Most US stock indices rose at the close of trading on Monday, Sept. 17, as growing expectations of significant interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve outweighed pressure on the technology sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.55%, or 228 points, to close at a record high of 41,622 points.

S&P added 0.15%, or 7 points, to 5,633, while Nasdaq fell nearly 0.50%, or 91 points, to end the day at 17,592.

Apple led the pressure in the technology sector, falling 2.80% to $216.32 at close, following warnings of weak demand for the iPhone 16, which the company announced last week.

As for the European indices, STOXX Europe 600 inched down 0.20% to 514.94 points, affected by the 1.25% loss of the technology sector.

Meanwhile, the British FTSE remained stable at 8,278 points, while the German DAX 40 lost 0.40% to end at 18,628 points. The French CAC 40 dropped 0.20% to 7,449 points.

Brent crude futures for November delivery rose 1.6%, or $1.14, to $72.75 per barrel, the highest since Sept. 3.

WTI crude for October delivery jumped 2.1%, or $1.44, at $70.09 per barrel, which is also the highest since Sept. 3.

Regarding gold, futures prices for December delivery were steady at $2608.90, after hitting the highest record close at $2617.40 in an earlier session.

The FedWatch tool showed that markets are expecting a 63% chance that the Fed is to cut rates by 50 base points at this week’s meeting, a 37% chance of a 25 base points cut, compared with 30% for the former and 70% for the latter a week ago.