Overview

• U.S. stocks closed at fresh highs Friday after the FOMC’s 25 bp cut and signals of further easing, with the Dow up 0.37%, the S&P 500 up 0.49% and the Nasdaq up 0.72%.
• Brazil’s Ibovespa set a nominal closing record at 145,865, gaining 0.25% on the day and 2.5% on the week, as the central bank holds the Selic at 15%.
• The real stayed firm with the dollar near R$5.32, virtually flat on the day but down 0.62% for the week, its fourth straight weekly decline against the real.
• Argentina’s central bank sold US$678 million Friday—over US$1.1 billion across three days—to cap the peso near the 1,475-per-dollar band ceiling, and President Javier Milei cited “political panic” for the market turmoil.
• Bitcoin touched its highest since August 17 near US$118,000 after the Fed decision and reports of SEC approval of generic listing standards for spot crypto ETFs, though U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs saw a net outflow of about US$51 million.