S&P 500 climbs to record high ahead of Fed decision By Investing.com

Investing.com– The S&P 500 climbed to fresh record highs Thursday, a day after notching its biggest-one day gain in two years as investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision.  

At 12:57 ET (1757 GMT), the index gained 0.7% to remain near record highs seen intraday of 5,972.9.  The rose 44 points, or 0.1%, and the added 1.4%, with latter two indexes also hitting intraday record highs.

Federal Reserve in focus 

Attention now turns to the conclusion of the latest later in the session. 

Markets are broadly pricing in a quarter-point borrowing cost reduction in the benchmark fed funds rate, which currently stands at a range of 4.75% to 5%.

In September, the Fed slashed rates by an outsized 50 basis points in a bid to provide support to labor demand during a time of waning inflationary pressures.

Investors will be keen to hear if Fed Chair Jerome Powell will comment on the path ahead for rates this year. Futures contracts tied to the Fed’s policy rate are also factoring in an additional drawdown in December, although these wagers were somewhat dented following Trump’s victory.

The bank’s outlook on interest rates remained a point of uncertainty, especially as recent data showed stickiness in inflation.

Moderna , Warner Bros deliver surprise profit; Lyft surges on upbeat guidance

Moderna (NASDAQ:) stock gave up early-day gains even as the drugmaker reported a surprise net income in the third quarter and announced changes at its leadership team. The beat on the bottom line was driven by higher-than-expected COVID-19 vaccine sales, but Moderna said it expects lower sales in 2024 compared with last year. 

Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:) stock rose over 10% after the mass media giant reported a surprise third-quarter profit, but missed revenue estimates as its studio business took a hit from fewer blockbuster releases.

Lyft (NASDAQ:) stock soared about 25% after the ride-hailing company posted sales above expectations, upbeat guidance, and unveiled a new partnership for self-driving cars.

Lyft’s guidance and strong quarter  “show that management’s strategy of improving the customer experience, the cadence of product innovation and pricing is starting to bear fruit, driving active riders & rider frequency growth,” Truist Securities said in a note.

Numbers from Block (NYSE:), Pinterest (NYSE:) and Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:) due after the close.

Qualcomm (NASDAQ:), ARM Holdings (LON:) lift chips

Qualcomm jumped more than 5% after its fiscal Q4 results topped analysts estimates and the chipmaker announced a $15B stock buyback program. 

The chipmaker’s e story continues to transform from a “wireless communications supplier to one focused on leveraging its compute expertise for edge applications where power/performance is key,” UBS said in a note as it lifted its price target on the stock to $190 from $185.

Arm Holdings ADR (NASDAQ:) also delivered quarterly results that surprised to the upside, sending its shares more than 4% higher. 

(Peter Nuse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)