Wall Street Indexes Trade Sideways Ahead of Fed Rate Decisions and Comments

Barry Adams
07 May, 2025
New York City

 Wall Street indexes advanced on Wednesday as investors reviewed the latest updates on corporate earnings and awaited the rate decisions later in the day. 

The S&P 500 index advanced as much as 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.5%, and investors reacted to earnings updates from Disney, Uber Technologies, Super Micro Computer, AMD, and Wynn Resorts. 

The Federal Reserve is widely anticipated to hold steady the fed funds rate range between 4.25% and 4.5%, where the rates have been since December. 

Investors are still holding out for at least two rate cuts later in the year and awaiting comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell to understand the future rate path. 

Market sentiment got a boost after the Trump administration officials were set to meet their counterparts in Geneva, Switzerland, later in the week. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer are likely to attempt to de-escalate trade tensions with China after the U.S. president launched a tariff war targeting  China's imports. 

Investor optimism may be misplaced, and China seems to be in no hurry to negotiate a deal with the U.S., as China is looking to ramp up its imports of corn, soybeans, and beef from South America. 

China's reliance on direct U.S. exports has declined from as high as 25% in 2016 to less than 15% in 2025, according to trade statistics available from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

However, there are few alternatives to sourcing large-scale, low-value products manufactured in China.  

 

Commodities, Currencies, Indexes, Yields

The S&P 500 index increased 0.4% to 5,627.97, the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.3% to 17,745.54, and the Russell 2000 index advanced 0.5% to 1,993.81.

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged higher to 3.81%, 10-year Treasury notes increased to 4.31%, and 30-year Treasury bonds declined to 4.79%.

WTI crude oil decreased $0.01 to $59.08 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged higher by $0.15 to $3.61 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $11.61 to $3,390.97 an ounce, and silver edged down by $0.34 to $32.81.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, increased by 0.20 to 99.43, and it traded at the lowest level since April 2022.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Super Micro Computer Inc. decreased 3.6% to $31.71, and the server company reported weaker-than-expected adjusted earnings of 31 cents per share. Moreover, the company's current quarter revenue outlook fell short of investor expectations. 

Advanced Micro Devices decreased 0.9% to $98.56, and the advanced chip maker reported adjusted earnings per share of 96 cents, ahead of market expectations. 

In addition, the company estimated a loss of $700 million in sales in the current quarter and about $1.5 billion in the current fiscal year because of export restrictions to China. 

The Walt Disney Company soared 9.8% to $101.09 after the media and resort company reported better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter earnings per share of $1.45. Additionally, the company raised its fiscal earnings estimate to $5.75 per share. 

The resort company said it struck a deal with Miral to build a theme park and resort on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

Disney will not invest its capital in the project, but it will benefit from royalties.  

Uber Technologies dropped 1.5% to $84.57, and the ride-hailing platform operator reported lower-than-expected revenue in the first quarter. 

Revenue in the first quarter increased 14% to $11.6 billion from $10.13 billion, net income swung to $1.78 billion from a loss of $654 million, and diluted earnings per share were 83 cents compared to a loss of 32 cents a year ago.