Wall Street stocks rose and the dollar retreated Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again as it seeks to shore up a vulnerable US labor market.

The rate cut was expected, but stocks had been under pressure in recent days in part due to speculation that the Fed would combine Wednesday's interest rate cut with commentary suggesting a pause to further easing in light of still-elevated inflation.

But market watchers read Fed Chair Jerome Powell's emphasis on the job market during a press conference as a signal that the Fed could cut interest rates again in 2026.

Powell's "press conference today was less hawkish than a lot of investors had anticipated," said CFRA Research's Sam Stovall. "And I think that that will go a long way to propelling stocks through the end of the

See Full Page