Overview

• The Federal Reserve lowered its policy rate by 25 basis points to a 4.00%–4.25% target range, with newly seated governor Stephen Miran dissenting in favor of a half-point move.
• Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that any further easing will depend on incoming economic data, reinforcing the dot-plot’s indication of two additional quarter-point cuts in 2025.
• Wall Street closed at fresh records Thursday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all setting highs as rate‑sensitive small caps surged and the 10‑year Treasury yield hovered near 4.11%.
• Paris’ CAC 40 rose 0.87% Thursday to 7,854.61 and advanced again Friday morning, while the euro weakened to about $1.1774 and core European sovereign yields edged higher.
• Semiconductor shares jumped after Nvidia said it would take a $5 billion stake in Intel, sending Intel up 22.77% and boosting European peers including STMicroelectronics and Soitec.