US Equity Indexes Rise as Increased Fed Rate-Cut Expectations Push Treasury Yields, Dollar Lower

01:30 PM EDT, 06/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose as growing expectations of three interest-rate cuts by year-end boosted investor sentiment, pushing government bond yields and the dollar lower after midday Thursday.

The Nasdaq climbed 0.7% to 20,108.8, and the S&P 500 added 0.7% to 6,131.9, approaching their all-time highs. The Dow gained 0.8% to 43,327.2. All sectors advanced intraday, except consumer staples and real estate. Communication services, energy, and materials led the pack.

The ICE US Dollar Index traded 0.7% lower at 97.03 after touching its 52-week low earlier in the day as the greenback weakened against major currencies. Thierry Wizman, a global foreign exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, attributed the dollar's decline to diminished geopolitical tensions and a market repricing around monetary policy expectations.

The Wall Street Journal's report that President Donald Trump may announce the name of the next chair of the Federal Reserve as early as September added to the dollar's weakness. Fed Chair Jerome Powell's term is due to end in May, and the protocol reportedly is for the president to announce a successor three to four months in advance to avoid uncertainty in monetary policy.

Rate-cut odds shifted notably as markets priced in a 47% chance of three 25-basis-point reductions this year, compared with 22% a week ago, according to the FedWatch Tool. Meanwhile, revised GDP data showed the economy contracted by 0.5% in Q1, more than an earlier estimate of a 0.2% decline, highlighting a softening momentum after growing by 2.4% in Q4.

Most Treasury yields declined, with the 10-year down 2.6 basis points to 4.27% and the two-year traded 4.7 basis points lower at 3.73%.

Trump's desire to "shadow" the Fed using a designated replacement for Powell "isn't a good way to promote the perceptions of integrity and autonomy in US policy-making and, by extension, that of the reserve currency status of the USD," Wizman added.

Further in economic news, initial jobless claims fell to 236,000 in the week ended June 21 from an upwardly revised 246,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for 243,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average fell by 750 to 245,000.

New orders for durable goods rebounded more than 16% in May following a decrease of 6.6%, above expectations for an 8.5% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Excluding a jump of over 48% in transportation orders, new orders would have been up 0.5% in May after a flat reading in April. Expectations were for no change.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose 1.5% to $65.85 a barrel.

Gold futures were steady at $3,343.11 per ounce.

In company news, Equinix (EQIX) said it expects annual revenue growth of 7% to 10% through 2029. BofA Securities, HSBC, and TD Cowen were among the firms to lower their respective price target for the company. Shares of Equinix (EQIX) slumped 8.5% intraday, the worst performer on the S&P 500.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority said it is investigating Boeing's (BA) anticipated acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems (SPR). The regulator is considering whether this transaction could result in a "substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services." Boeing's (BA) shares were Dow's top gainer intraday, up 2.8%.

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