Wall St stabiles with indices on rate for weekly profits; FedEx jumps

(For a reuters live blog on US, UK and European stock markets, click or live/ in a news window.) * Indexes Up: Dow 0.01%, S&P 500 0.04%, Nasdaq 0.18% * FedEx results top targets for cost-cutting, shares Spring * Lennar Falls (Load) Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta September 19 (Reuters) -The most important indices of Wall Street were subdued in a meager trade on Friday, with the Nasdaq suspension of a record high, while FedEx rose when the package delivery firm achieved a quarterly results. Fedex rose 2.7% on Thursday after the quarterly profit and revenue was reported above analysts estimates, as cost savings and strength in domestic deliveries helps to compensate poorer international volumes. Apple added 2% after a price target hike from JP Morgan, while Tesla rose 1.8% after a Baird’s report on the share to “better perform” from “neutral”. Their profits increased the S&P 500 technology and the discretionary sectors of consumers, 0.3% and 0.5% respectively. It was the only sectors that traded higher. Industries and energy indices have led broader declines. “We are still calming down from the Fed decision, which is the expectation for monetary policy and the labor prospects and how they will exist,” says Kevin Gordon, senior investment strategist at Charles Schwab. “It’s probably time for the market back to sit back and re -evaluate to a very strong rally.” At 11:37 AM ET, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 6.86 points, or 0.01%, to 46,149,28, the S&P 500 scored 2.79 points, or 0.04%, to 6,634,75 and the NASDAQ compost scored 39.15 points, or 0.18%, to 22.510.20. The small cap Russell 2000 index was 0.7% lower after briefly beating a record of the intraday on the day. It recorded a record on Thursday, the first since November 2021. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set up for their third week of profits, characterized by the Fed’s first rate cut of 2025 and indications of further monetary policy. Revived optimism around AI-linked stock trading has also added to the increase. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping spoke by phone, after which Trump said the two leaders made progress with a tapping agreement and agreed to a face to face as soon as next month in South Korea. “To the extent that it (the call) is wrapped in a broader discussion of trade conversations and rates … This is probably where the most important factor is,” Gordon added. Analysts expect some volatility from ‘Triple Witching’, where options and futures are linked to stock indices and individual shares will expire on the third Friday of the last month of the term. Wall Street’s three main indices have been in a positive area so far in September – a month that is historically bad for US equities. The benchmark S&P 500 has dropped an average of 1.4% in the month since 2000, according to data compiled by LSeg. Minneapolis president Neel Kashkari said on Friday that he believed that the rate -sized rate cuts at each of the Fed’s last two meetings of the year would be appropriate. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly will speak later that day. In other shares, Lennar fell by 3% after the home builder predicted a lower profit in the third quarter and the forecasts of the fourth quarter under the estimates. Diminishing issues have the lead on the NYSE with a 2.17-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and with a 1.78-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 placed 17 new highlights of 52 weeks and 10 new lows, while the Nasdaq compost recorded 106 new highs and 34 new lows. (Reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; editing by Pooja Desai and Maju Samuel)