Particle.news
Download on the App Store
36 ARTICLES
·
yesterday

Equities Edge Up as Tech Beats Offset Fed’s Rate Hold and New India Tariffs

Blockbuster M&A deals, a rare Fed split, policy fissures, shifting trade stances are testing investor resolve in U.S. markets.

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Thursday.
A man walks past a brokerage house with a display board showing the stock index information, in Beijing, China April 9, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A currency trader works near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, July 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Overview

  • The Federal Open Market Committee voted 9–2 to maintain its policy rate at 4.25%–4.50%, marking the first dual dissent since 1993.
  • President Trump announced a 25% tariff on Indian imports effective August 1, intensifying questions over U.S. trade policy.
  • S&P 500 futures rose 0.6% and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.9% after Microsoft and Meta Platforms posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results.
  • Negotiators in Stockholm indicated that a 90-day extension of the U.S.-China trade truce is likely as talks continue to advance.
  • Major transactions including Union Pacific’s $85 billion bid for Norfolk Southern and Baker Hughes’s $9.6 billion acquisition of Chart Industries are underpinning market gains.