US Equity Indexes Hit Record Highs This Week After Fed Rate Cut, Warmer US-China Trade Relations

04:24 PM EDT, 09/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- * US equity indexes rose this week after the Federal Reserve cut its target interest rate range by 25 basis points to 4% to 4.25%, and hinted at two more rate reductions in 2025. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said progress was made on key issues, including trade, following his call with China's Xi Jinping.

* The S&P 500 closed at 6,664.36 on Friday versus 6,584.29 a week ago, and the Nasdaq Composite stood at 22,631.47 compared with 22,111.10 a week earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 46,315.27, versus 45,834.22 at the end of last week.

*The Baker Hughes rig count report, an early indicator of future output, revealed that US oil and gas rigs increased by three to 542 for the week ended Sept. 19, up from 539 in the prior week. Oil rigs increased by two to 418.

* US initial jobless claims for the week ended Sept. 13 dropped 33,000 to 231,000 from 264,000 in the week prior, and below the 241,000 expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, a measure of manufacturing sector health, rose to 23.2 in September from minus 0.3 in August, and above the 1.7 expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

*US retail sales rose 0.6% in August, higher than the 0.2% expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey, indicating continued consumer spending despite higher prices and US labor market weakness. US business inventories in July increased by 0.2% from June, according to a US Census Bureau report. Meanwhile, US industrial production rose by 0.1% in August, in contrast with a 0.1% decline forecast by a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

* The annual rate of homebuilding permits in August was over 1.3 million, down 3.7% from around 1.4 million in July, and below the 1.4 million expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. According to the US Census Bureau report, housing starts in August stood at an adjusted annual rate of over 1.3 million, down 8.5% from the over 1.4 million in July, and under the 1.4 million expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

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