US stock futures were mixed after the Federal Reserve (Fed) cut interest rates by 0.25 percentage points at its policy meeting early this morning.
However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also stressed that the next interest rate cut in December is still uncertain.
In early trading, stocks rose and extended gains after the Fed cut interest rates as expected by the market.
Fed policymakers also faced constraints in making decisions following the US federal government shutdown.
The central bank lowered its benchmark overnight rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%, marking the Fed's second rate cut this year.
After Powell's speech, investors reduced expectations for a December rate cut, lowering it to 71% from 90% previously.
Michael Rosen, Chief Investment Officer at Angeles Investment, said the rate cut was made as expected, but Powell's statement changed market sentiment before strong earnings returned to support the equity market.
The tech-focused Nasdaq rose 0.55% to 23,958.47, the S&P 500 was flat at 6,890.59, and the Dow Jones fell 0.16% to 47,632.00.
The vast majority of U.S. companies beat earnings expectations, according to LSEG data. Of the 222 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, about 84.2% posted earnings that topped Wall Street estimates.
Meanwhile, Nvidia shares rose 3% to $207.04, giving it a market value of $5.03 trillion after rising more than 50% this year and leading a surge in artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks on Wall Street.
Meta Platforms shares fell more than 8%, Microsoft fell 1%, and Alphabet rose about 5%.
U.S. stock trading volume was $20.71 billion, compared with an average of $21 billion over the past 20 trading days.
