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GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks finish week higher after key central bank decisions
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GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks finish week higher after key central bank decisions
Sep 21, 2025 4:34 AM

(Updates prices throughout with US market close, adds oil

settlement and new analyst quote)

*

Wall Street stocks advance in choppy trading

*

Fed rate cut keeps investors upbeat

*

European shares finish week slightly lower

*

Gold prices rise, crude oil falls

By Chibuike Oguh and Elizabeth Howcroft

NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose in

choppy trading on Friday, on track for a weekly gain, driven by

positive sentiment on Wall Street following key central bank

decisions.

The Federal Reserve cut U.S. interest rates by a quarter of a

percentage point on Wednesday, the first easing since December,

while Norway and Canada also cut rates.

On Wall Street, all three indexes finished higher a day

after hitting record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 0.37% to 46,315.27, the S&P 500 advanced

0.49% to 6,664.36, and the Nasdaq Composite firmed 0.72%

to 22,631.48.

European shares finished down 0.16%, and for the

week were down 0.13%.

Japan's Nikkei fell 0.57% after the Bank of Japan

decided to start selling its holdings of risky assets. MSCI's

gauge of stocks across the globe hit a fresh

record high of 982.29, adding nearly 1% for the week.

Investors are betting that central bank rate cuts will boost

stocks further.

"The market for the past several weeks has all been focused

on and relying on the Fed meeting and the Fed's decision, and

there was enough in the decision to leave everyone just slightly

disappointed though basically satisfied," said Michael Farr,

chief executive of investment advisory firm Farr, Miller &

Washington in Washington.

The Fed stopped short of endorsing market expectations for a

clear string of rate cuts, emphasizing a meeting-by-meeting,

data-dependent approach. The Fed's tone, along with the wide

range of views within the U.S. central bank, disappointed some

investors, who had hoped the stock market would be boosted by a

rapid shift to lower rates, analysts said.

"Markets have done exceptionally well and now markets are

looking for the next driver or the next bit of news," Farr said.

"I think as we probably get into earnings season in October,

those reports will be more important than ever because we need

to see and the Fed needs to see if tariffs are indeed making

their way into bottom-line profits."

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose

2.5 basis points to 4.129%. The 2-year note yield,

which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations

for the Fed, rose 0.6 basis points to 3.574%.

"The short-term momentum is clearly higher and we are

playing the market to the upside because that's what the

short-term momentum is telling you," said Bill Strazzullo,

partner and chief market strategist at Bell Curve Trading in

Boston.

"But I think it's a lot more complicated now because the Fed

clearly has chosen to err on the side of the weaker labor market

so that's talking about more rate cuts."

Following their first call in three months, U.S. President

Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made

progress on a TikTok agreement and would meet face-to-face in

six weeks in South Korea to discuss trade, illicit drugs and

Russia's war in Ukraine.

A stopgap spending bill that would avert an October 1

government shutdown fell short in the U.S. Senate on Friday. The

bill had been passed by the House of Representatives.

The U.S. dollar index rose for a third straight

session, up 0.33% to 97.67, but was still set to notch a third

straight week of losses.

The dollar strengthened 0.4% to 0.795 against the Swiss

franc, but was down 0.03% to 147.97 against the

Japanese yen.

The euro fell 0.35% against the dollar to $1.1745.

The British pound fell 0.64% to $1.3467.

The Bank of England kept rates on hold on Thursday, but slowed

the pace at which it is unloading the government bonds it

purchased in previous crises.

Oil prices settled lower as traders' worries about fuel

demand outweighed the typical boost from a U.S. rate cut.

Brent crude futures fell 1.1% to settle at $66.68 a

barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures lost

1.4%, to $62.68.

Gold was up 1.04% at $3,681.79, notching its fifth straight

week of gains.

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