Review & Preview: Waiting for the Rate Cut

Sep 12, 2025 19:55:00 -0400 by Alex Eule | #Markets #Review & Preview

Split Decision. The Nasdaq Composite closed at another record today, up 0.4%, even as the Dow Jones Industrial Average turned in its worst performance of the month. The S&P 500 was essentially flat.

The Friday divergence sets up a big week for investors with the Federal Reserve set to meet Tuesday and Wednesday, before announcing its closely watched interest-rate decision Wednesday afternoon. Stocks have had a strong start to September, as traders get more confident of at least a quarter-point rate to the federal-funds rate cut at next week’s meeting.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq stood out today thanks in part to a big gain from Tesla. The electric vehicle pioneer maker jumped 7.4%. Tesla and other car makers are some of the chief beneficiaries of an expected rate cut, my colleague Al Root reports.

“The move comes after Tesla stock added 6% on Thursday, helped in part by in-line inflation data that solidified investors’ belief that rate cuts are coming,” Al wrote today. “Auto companies like lower rates because cars are generally financed.”

On the flip side of the tape, healthcare stocks were hurt by reports that the Trump administration is planning to link the deaths of 25 children to Covid-19 shots. Moderna fell 7.4% on the day, while Pfizer fell 3.9%. Healthcare was the worst performing sector in the S&P 500, falling 1.2% on the day.

“The reports seemed to be taken as confirmation of the Trump administration’s intentions to heighten its campaign against the vaccine sector, and vaccine stocks were down sharply on Friday afternoon,” Josh reports, noting big declines for other vaccine makers BioNTech and Novavax, as well.

Josh had just published a story this morning, highlighting the risk to Pfizer stock, as controversy swirls around vaccines. Read that story here.

Company

Last

Chg

Chg%

Dow Jones Industrial Average

45,951.74

117.52

0.26%

S&P 500 Index

6,617.52

33.23

0.50%

NASDAQ Composite Index

22,298.84

157.74

0.71%

Market Data as of

The Hot Stock: Warner Bros. Discovery Platforms +16.7%
The Biggest Loser: Arista Networks -8.9%

Best Sector: Communications Services +0.8%
Worst Sector: Healthcare -1.2%

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Friday, Sept. 12Index performanceSource: FactSetAs of Sept. 16, 4 p.m. ET

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Sept. 16-0.5-0.4-0.3-0.2-0.100.10.2%Nasdaq CompositeS&P 500Dow industrials

This Week’s Magazine

The Calendar

The rubber meets the road next Wednesday when the Federal Open Market Committee announces its monetary-policy, in what will be a busy week for global central banks, with Canada, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Japan also announcing their monetary-policy decisions.

But it’s Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the FOMC that will take center stage. Despite inflation running above the Fed’s 2% target, a weakening labor market all but assures an interest-rate cut at the meeting. The question on investors’ minds is how many more rate cuts they can expect through the end of the year and into next year.

Economic data to be released next week include the Census Bureau’s retail sales data on Tuesday and housing starts Wednesday.

Ferguson Enterprises releases earnings on Tuesday, General Mills on Wednesday, and FedEx and Lennar on Thursday.

—Dan Lam

What We’re Reading Today

Join Barron’s Live on Monday. Chinese stocks are up sharply this year, along with stocks in other Asian emerging markets—and the gains aren’t coming only from tech. What is driving the rally, will it continue, and where should investors shop now? Barron’s Lauren Rublin and Ben Levisohn discuss the Asia-Pacific investment landscape with Roderick Snell, an Emerging Markets & Asia fund manager at Baillie Gifford.

Barron’s Live features timely and actionable insights for investors. We give you behind-the-scenes conversations with the newsroom, connecting you with our editors and reporters covering the markets, the economy, and more.