After Wednesday’s “everything rally” spurred by the election results, investors took a less euphoric approach on Thursday ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, bringing them to a range of 4.5%-4.75%, following a previous 50-basis-point cut in September.

Yet, all eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments at 2:30 p.m. ET regarding the potential for future rate hikes and his views on inflation risks. Concerns from the market center on the possibility of a policy U-turn driven by higher fiscal deficits and price pressures from trade tariffs under a Trump administration.

Tech stocks led gains, with the Nasdaq 100 extending its record-breaking levels, surpassing 21,000 points and eyeing a third consecutive positive session. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones posted more modest gains, while the Russell 2000 paused after Wednesday’s 5.8% leap.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) remained a top performer among mega-cap stocks, bolstered by expectations of Elon Musk‘s influence in the upcoming administration.

Treasury yields reversed a substantial portion of Wednesday's post-election increase, while the U.S. dollar dipped by 0.7%.

Metal commodities rebounded after Wednesday’s sharp losses, with gold rising 1.3%, silver up 2% and copper rallying over 4%.

Oil prices strengthened by 1%, with West Texas Intermediate trading around $72 per barrel.

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose 0.8%, reaching $76,000 to extend its record highs, while Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) outperformed with a gain of over 4%.

Thursday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 0.7% to $594.84.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) stalled at $437.25.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) soared 1.3% to $512.38.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) eased 0.3% to $236.67.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, rising 1.3%. The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) lagged, down 1.2%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

Some relevant reactions to earnings reports are:

• Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM), up 0.1%,
• Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD), up 6.2%,
• MercadoLibre Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI), down 16%,
• APPLovin Corp. (NASDAQ:APP), up 43%,
• McKesson Corp. (NYSE:MCK), up 11%,
• Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (NASDAQ:TTWO), up 6.3%,
• Transdigm Group Inc. (NYSE:TDG), down 4.4%

Read Next:

• Why Trump’s Boost To Treasury Yields, Inflation Expectations May Weaken Fed’s Efforts To Cut Interest Rates

This image was created using artificial intelligence.