U.S. stocks traded higher toward the end of trading, after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates.

The Dow traded up 0.33% to 41,744.18 while the NASDAQ rose 0.71% to 17,752.73. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.43% to 5,659.04.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Consumer discretionary shares rose by 0.9% on Wednesday.

In trading on Wednesday, utilities shares fell by 0.7%.

Top Headline

The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by 50 basis points Wednesday at its September Federal Open Market Committee meeting, lowering the federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%. This marks the first rate cut in over four years and breaks a streak of 12 consecutive months with rates held steady.

Equities Trading UP

Intuitive Machines, Inc. ( LUNR ) shares shot up 48% to $8.00 after the company announced it was awarded a NASA Near Space Network contract for communication and navigation services, with a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion.

Shares of Applied Therapeutics, Inc. ( APLT ) got a boost, surging 61% to $7.47 after the FDA communicated that an advisory committee meeting would no longer be required.

PowerFleet, Inc. ( AIOT ) shares were also up, gaining 10% to $5.09 after the company announced it entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Fleet Complete for $200 million.

Equities Trading DOWN

NANO Nuclear Energy Inc ( NNE ) shares dropped 11% to $11.06 after jumping 290% on Tuesday.

Shares of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, Inc. ( WHLR ) were down 24% to $7.10. The company announced a 1-for-3 reverse stock split of common stock.

Cibus, Inc. ( CBUS ) was down, falling 28% to $3.62 after the company announced the pricing of $12 million offering of 3 million shares at $4.00 per share.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.1% to $71.12 while gold traded up 1% at $2,618.80.

Silver traded down 1.2% to $31.34 on Wednesday, while copper rose 1.3% to $4.3275.

Euro zone

European shares closed lower today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 fell 0.50%, Germany's DAX fell 0.08% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.57%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.16%, while London's FTSE 100 fell 0.68%.

Annual inflation rate in the Eurozone fell to 2.2% in August, recording the lowest level since July 2021, compared to 2.6% in the prior month. Construction output in the Eurozone fell by 2.2% year-over-year in July compared to a revised 1.3% decline in the previous month.

Annual inflation rate in the UK came in unchanged at 2.2% in August, in line with estimates, while producer prices increased 0.2% year-over-year in August.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly higher on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.49%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.49% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.16%.

Japanese trade deficit shrank to JPY 695.30 billion in August from JPY 940.10 billion in the year-earlier month, and versus market expectations of a JPY 1,380 billion gap.

Economics

U.S. mortgage applications surged by 14.2% from the prior week in the week ending Sept. 13.

Housing starts in the U.S. climbed by 9.6% from the prior month to an annualized rate of 1.356 million units for August.

U.S. building permits gained by 4.9% to an adjusted annual rate of 1.475 million in August.

U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 1.630 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 13, compared to market estimates of a 0.1 million decrease.

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