Pre-Market Report – Thursday 30 October: US markets stall on Fed cuts | Tech results after hours mixed

Big night for Wall Street as the SP500 finished flat but the Nasdaq rose 0.5%. Focus on US company earnings and the Fed meeting. Rates cut 0.25% but pushed back against any assumption of another one in December. Bond yields and USD up. US10Y up 10bp. Gold initially up over 1.5% before losing all gains. Equities took an initial hit before recovering. The odds of a December cut dropped from 90% to 71%. The Fed also announced an end to its “QT” policy. Aimed at easing pressure in the short term lending market.Mega cap tech stocks reported after the bell. Meta down 6.7% after market despite posting record revenue in the third quarter. Net income was below expectations because of a one off, $16bn tax hit. Alphabet rose 5% after posting sales at a record $102 billion. Net income was up 33% on the previous year. Microsoft down 3% despite its Azure cloud division growing by 40% and operating income increasing 24%. Caterpillar shares went up 12% in their steepest rise since 2009, driven from power generator demand from data centres. Nvidia also topped $5 trillion in value – the first company to do so. Other notables included ServiceNow (in FANG) up 3% after hours, UBS down 1%, KLA Corp (Chip stock) up 2.4% and Boeing down 4.4%.The SPI is down 32 points. ASX set to open lower. Want to invest with Marcus Today? Our MT20 portfolio is designed for investors seeking exposure to our strategy while we do the hard work for you. If you’re looking for personal financial advice, our friends at Clime Investment Management can help. Their team of licensed advisers operates across most states, offering tailored financial planning services.  Why not sign up for a free trial? Gain access to expert insights, research, and analysis to become a better investor.