Today’s Market Recap: Fed Holds Rates Steady, Memory Chip Sector Surges, Micron Up Over 5%, SanDisk Up Over 7%, Google Drops Nearly 10% After Hours

Tracking Market Trends

TradingKey - On October 28, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices closed slightly higher across the board. The Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged, but two members supported a rate hike, with inflation remaining the focus of policy discussions. After the U.S. market close, Microsoft (MSFT) and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) released quarterly earnings reports. Cloud growth, AI investments, and profitability became the main focus of market attention, with the two companies' stock prices reacting differently.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.19% to finish at 52,480.26; the S&P 500 Index gained 0.28% to close at 7,743.98; and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.27% to close at 26,549.85.

In terms of sectors and individual stocks, SanDisk (SNDK) rose 7.66%, Micron Technology (MU) gained 5.86%, and Broadcom (AVGO) rose about 2.8%. In extended trading, Microsoft moved higher, rising 3% after reporting strong cloud growth, while Google parent Alphabet fell 9.99% due to revenue and earnings per share missing market expectations, as well as cash flow pressure from massive capital expenditures.

In commodities, international oil prices rose. Brent crude (UKOIL) gained 0.93% to settle at $110.75, while WTI crude (USOIL) rose about 1.74% to close at $101.95. News of attacks on Saudi oil refining facilities reignited supply concerns, as the security of Middle Eastern energy facilities continued to influence oil price trends.

In precious metals, spot gold (XAUUSD) rose 0.17% to close at $4,067.26. Gold prices experienced volatility during the Fed decision and subsequent press conference, dropping to near $4,025 intraday before recovering losses.

In cryptocurrencies, as of the Asian trading session on October 29, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at around $81,300, up 0.54%, continuing to trade above $80,000.

Market News

The Federal Reserve maintained its interest rate range, with two members supporting a rate hike. The Fed voted 10-2 to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.75% to 4.00%. Cook and Hammack advocated for a 25-basis-point rate hike. The statement noted that U.S. economic activity continues to expand at a strong pace and domestic spending remains resilient, but inflation remains elevated, and the committee needs more information to judge the appropriate policy stance.

Microsoft's quarterly revenue rose 19%, with Azure revenue up 48%. Microsoft reported its first-quarter results for fiscal year 2027, with revenue reaching $92.279 billion, up 19% year-over-year; net income was $36.629 billion, up 32% year-over-year; and adjusted earnings per share came in at $4.89. Microsoft Cloud revenue grew 30% to $63.9 billion, with Azure revenue jumping 48%. Commercial remaining performance obligations increased 73% to $677 billion.

Alphabet's quarterly revenue grew 25% as Google Cloud revenue doubled. Alphabet's third-quarter revenue reached $127.577 billion, up 25% year-over-year, while Google Cloud revenue rose 103% to $30.709 billion. Earnings per share came in at $2.12, down from $2.87 in the same period last year, and quarterly capital expenditures rose to approximately $51.355 billion. Despite the rapid expansion of its cloud business, overall revenue and EPS both fell short of market expectations.

The Bank of Canada raised interest rates by 25 basis points, lifting its policy rate to 2.50%. The Bank of Canada stated that inflationary pressures driven by persistently high energy prices are proving more persistent than previously expected, prompting an upward revision to its inflation outlook. The central bank expects Canada's inflation rate to remain around 3% through most of 2027 and not return to near 2% until mid-2028.

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