Bernanke Wields the Ax Again, Boosting Stocks and ETFs
January 30th at 12:00pm by Tom Lydon
Once again, the Federal Reserve stepped in and made a half-point rate cut, a move that Wall Street and exchange traded funds (ETFs) apparently liked.
The rate cut didn’t come as a complete surprise, as the stock market had been banking on it. They just weren’t sure if it would be the half-point cut, or a more cautious quarter-point, reports Madlen Read for the Associated Press. The move today puts the federal funds rate target at 3%, the lowest since June 2005, according to Mark Felsenthal for Reuters.
Once the cut was announced, the stock markets went positive: within minutes of the decision, the Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 100 points at one point. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also rose following the report.
It’s positive news, but between this latest cut and last week’s unexpected three-quarter point cut, will it be enough to rejuvenate the economy? Let’s wait and see.
