Overnight US stocks | The three major indices closed up, the Fed cut interest rates three times during the year and ruled out a possible rate hike, Oracle (ORCL.US) plummeted more than 10% after the market

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on Wednesday, the three major indices closed higher. After the Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates again this year, traders are betting that more easing policies will be introduced next year.

[US stocks] At the close, the Dow rose 497.46 points, or 1.05%, to 48057.75 points; the NASDAQ rose 77.67 points, or 0.33%, to 23654.16 points; the S&P 500 rose 46.22 points, or 0.68%, to 6886.73 points.

[European stocks] The German DAX30 index fell 30.82 points, or 0.13%, to 24141.47 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose 11.84 points, or 0.12%, to 9653.85 points; the French CAC40 index fell 29.82 points, or 0.37%, to 8022.69 points; the European Stoxx 50 index fell 9.97 points, or 0.17%, to 5708.35 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index rose 28.85 points, or 0.17%, to report 16763.35 points; Italy's FTSE MIB index fell 116.50 points, or 0.27%, to 43458.00 points.

[Asia Pacific Stock Market] The Nikkei 225 Index fell 0.1%, South Korea's KOSPI Index fell 0.21%, India's BSE SENSEX fell 0.32%, and the Indonesian Composite Index rose 0.51%.

[Foreign Exchange] The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against the six major currencies, fell 0.43% on the same day and closed at 98.789 at the end of the foreign exchange market. As of the end of the exchange market in New York, 1 euro was worth $1.1678, up from $1.1628 on the previous trading day; 1 pound was worth $1.3365, up from $1.3302 on the previous trading day. 1 US dollar was worth 156.26 yen, lower than 156.84 yen on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was worth 0.8011 Swiss franc, lower than 0.8060 Swiss franc on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was worth 1.3810 Canadian dollars, lower than 1.3849 Canadian dollars on the previous trading day; 1 US dollar was worth 9.2864 SEK, lower than 9.3650 on the previous trading day.

[Cryptocurrency] Bitcoin fell 0.62% to $92,132; Ethereum fell 0.51% to $3335.46.

[Precious Metals] Spot gold rose 0.48% to 4228.67 US dollars/ounce. Spot silver fell slightly by 0.02% to $61.837 per ounce.

[Crude oil] The price of WTI crude oil for January delivery rose 0.36% to close at $58.46 a barrel; Brent crude rose 0.44% in February, and the settlement price was $62.21.

[Macro News]

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by another 25 basis points, and Powell ruled out the possibility of raising interest rates. The Federal Reserve passed the interest rate cut resolution by 9 votes to 3, announcing an interest rate cut of 25 basis points, and lowered the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to the 3.50%-3.75% range. This is the third time in a row that interest rates have been cut during the year. The total reduction has been 75 basis points during the year. However, cutting interest rates for the third time this year was far from an easy decision. Some members were in favor of cutting interest rates to prevent further weakening of the job market, while others believed that the easing policy was large enough to increase inflation. Trump delivered a speech at the White House event and was not satisfied with the 25 basis point cut by the Federal Reserve. He commented that (interest rate cut) could have been doubled, at least doubled. Three members voted against it, showing that differences have deepened. Stephen Milan advocated lowering the federal funds rate target range by 50 basis points at this meeting; Austin Goulsby and Jeffrey Schmid, both advocated keeping the federal funds rate target range unchanged at this meeting. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said at a press conference after the meeting that the Federal Reserve will “wait and see” before taking further action, but basically rules out the possibility of raising interest rates. He blamed inflation on the impact of tariffs. He believes that inflation is still at a high level. He believes that if tax factors are left aside, the inflation rate will be low at around 2%. Powell also objected to Trump's views from the side. He believes that although the real estate market has faced major challenges and housing construction has been insufficient for a long time, interest rate cuts of 25 basis points will not have much impact on housing affordability.

The Federal Reserve will make a $40 billion net asset purchase this month. The Federal Reserve launched a reserve management purchase program to once again expand its balance sheet by purchasing short-term US Treasury bonds, with the aim of preventing pressure on the overnight loan market. The overnight loan market is critical to the entire financial system. The Federal Reserve said it will begin expanding its balance sheet this month, buying $40 billion in treasury notes, and plans to gradually reduce the pace of new purchases sometime next year.

“Federal Reserve microphone”: Three interest rate cuts are difficult to resolve internal disputes, and we need to be wary of the “risk of stagflation.” “Federal Reserve microphone” Nick Timiraos recently wrote that Federal Reserve officials cut interest rates for the third time in a row, but they should be more concerned about inflation or the job market. There are unusual differences within the Federal Reserve, so officials suggest that they are not willing to continue to cut interest rates. Public comments by Federal Reserve officials in recent weeks show that opinions within the committee are so divided that the final decision may depend on how Federal Reserve Chairman Powell wants to proceed. Powell's term expires in May next year, which means he will only chair the next three interest rate setting meetings. Strong price pressure has accompanied the cooling of the labor market, bringing an uncomfortable trade-off for the Federal Reserve. This is a situation it has not faced in decades. During the so-called “stagflation” period in the 1970s, when officials faced similar difficulties, the Federal Reserve's stop-and-go response allowed high inflation to take root. Jonathan Pingle, chief US economist at UBS, said, “As interest rates approach a neutral level, every time you cut interest rates, you lose the support of more participants. You need data to motivate those participants to join the majority to cut interest rates.”

[Individual Stock News]

Sales in the Oracle Cloud business fell less than 10% after the expected market. Oracle (ORCL.US) reported disappointing cloud business revenue, showing that its recent large-scale artificial intelligence orders may take longer to fulfill. According to Oracle's second-fiscal quarter earnings report, cloud business sales increased 34% to US$7.98 billion; the company's much-publicized infrastructure business revenue increased 68% to US$4.08 billion. But both figures are slightly below analysts' expectations. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that remaining performance obligations (a measure of orders) jumped to $523 billion in the second fiscal quarter, while analysts estimated an average of $519 billion.

The Warner takeover case was met with another variable Trump said CNN must be sold. Warner Bros., which owns CNN, is currently facing a bid from Netflix (NFLX.US) and Paramount Sky Dance. When asked about this, US President Trump said, “I think CNN must be sold because of course you wouldn't want... to let those people get a lot of money and then CNN spend more money to spread poison. The people in charge of CNN now are either corrupt or incompetent.” According to previous media reports, Paramount CEO David Ellison promised Trump administration officials during his visit to Washington in December last year that if he buys Warner, he will carry out profound reforms to CNN. However, Netflix does not plan to buy CNN's Warner TV division, which makes the company face many problems if it wants to resolve the president's concerns.

Media: Apple CEO pressured US lawmakers over child cybersecurity law. According to reports, on Wednesday local time, Apple (AAPL.US) CEO Cook met with US lawmakers and lobbied against provisions in child online safety legislation requiring app store operators to verify the age of users. Apple said it is concerned about the App Store Liability Act, which requires app stores to verify the age of users to determine whether minors are using potentially harmful apps. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to review the bill on Thursday morning. According to an Apple statement, in a closed-door meeting with committee members, Cook urged lawmakers not to require app store operators to check users' age documentation, but to rely on parents to provide age information when creating accounts for their children.