The S&P 500 closed lower Wednesday after easing from intraday record high as the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, though cooled expectations about the certainty of further rate cuts ahead.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index closed marginally lower, and the NASDAQ Composite gained 0.6%.

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday for the second time this year, citing concerns about a softening labor market. The central bank also said it would stop reducing the size of its balance sheet as soon as December, marking the end of its quantitative tightening program.

The rate cut decision was largely expected, though there were two Fed members who dissented against decision to cut by 0.25%.

Fed Governor Stephen Miran continued to advocate for a half-percentage-point interest rate cut at the September meeting. While Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey R. Schmid, preferred no change to the target range for the federal funds rate.

At the press conference, however, Fed chairman Jerome Powell pushed back against expectations that the December rate cut was a "foregone conclusion," saying that it is "far from it."

Tech earnings to set tone
In the corporate sector, earnings are due from software giant Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Instagram-owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) after the close on Wall Street.

These results are set to be followed on Thursday by iPhone-maker Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and e-commerce titan Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

Such is their massive size and sway over investors that these reports stand to heavily dictate the trajectory of U.S. equities heading into the final months of 2025.

Elsewhere, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is in the spotlight, with the chipmaker on course to become the first $5 trillion company, after Trump said he plans to discuss the company's Blackwell artificial intelligence processors with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, fueling speculation that Washington could ease restrictions on chip exports to China.

Trump had previously signaled that he might consider allowing Nvidia to export a downgraded version of its latest AI processor to China — a move that would mark a major policy shift and potential breakthrough in U.S.-China tech relations.

Elsewhere, Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) stock rose after the telecom giant beat estimates for quarterly profit and wireless subscriber additions, as promotions around the recent iPhone launches helped the U.S. wireless service provider attract more customers

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) stock gained after the heavy equipment manufacturer reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, with sales helped by resilient demand across its business segments.

CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) stock rose after the pharmacy chain lifted its annual profit outlook, but flagged a $5.7 billion charge linked to an impairment test which showed that the fair value of its struggling health care delivery division was below its carrying value.

Source: Investing.com