Gitterman Wealth Management LLC portfolio manager Jordan Kimmel gives his stock recommendations.
U.S. equity futures are trading mixed ahead of today’s interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve.
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Most investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut short-term rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday. It has cut rates twice since the summer to shield the U.S. from the impact of the trade war and a slowing global economy.
Company earnings reports have also helped lift the market. With nearly half of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported results for the July-September quarter, the index is on pace to report a profit drop of 3.5% from the prior year, according to FactSet.
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That’s not as bad as the roughly 4 percent decline that analysts were expecting on the eve of earnings reporting season, but it would be the first time that profits dropped for three straight quarters since 2015-2016.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 27071.42 | -19.30 | -0.07% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3036.89 | -2.53 | -0.08% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 8276.851182 | -49.13 | -0.59% |
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1 percent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.1 percent.
The Nasdaq composite slid 0.6 percent.
Hopes that the U.S. and China can make progress on their trade dispute, or at least stop making it worse have recently buoyed share prices.
The modest pullback came a day after the S&P 500 hit an all-time high. Reports that China and the U.S. may not reach a trade agreement in time to sign a deal next month at a regional summit put a damper on sentiment.
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In Asia on Wednesday, Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.6 percent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 0.4 percent while the Shanghai Composite gave up 0.5 percent.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
