Overnight US stocks | Emphasis on employment risks, the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates by 25 basis points, with most major indices closing lower. Baidu Inc Sponsored ADR Class A (BIDU.US) rose by over 11%.

On Wednesday, the three major indexes mostly closed down. The Federal Reserve announced a 25-basis-point rate cut, a move supported by most of the Federal Reserve officials appointed by Trump, with only new board member Milan opposing it and hoping for a 50 basis point cut. At a press conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that today's rate cut was a risk management decision and added that he believed there was no need to quickly adjust rates. U.S. StockAs of the close, the Dow rose 260.42 points, up 0.57%, at 46,018.32 points; the Nasdaq fell 72.63 points, down 0.33%, at 22,261.33 points; and the S&P 500 index fell 6.41 points, down 0.10%, at 6,600.35 points. Some chip stocks fell, with Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) down 3.8%, NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) down 2.6%, and Intel Corporation (INTC.US) down 1.4%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index closed up 2.85%, with Baidu Inc Sponsored ADR Class A (BIDU.US) up over 11% and Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) up over 2%. European StockThe German DAX30 index rose 38.76 points, up 0.17%, at 23,363.23 points; the UK FTSE 100 index rose 14.94 points, up 0.16%, at 9,210.60 points; the French CAC40 index fell 31.24 points, down 0.40%, at 7,786.98 points; the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 1.06 points, down 0.02%, at 5,371.25 points; the Spanish IBEX35 index fell 16.40 points, down 0.11%, at 15,138.50 points; and the Italian FTSE MIB index fell 535.56 points, down 1.26%, at 41,969.00 points. Crude OilNew York Mercantile Exchange light crude futures for October delivery fell 47 cents to settle at $64.05 per barrel, down 0.73%; and for November delivery, London Brent crude futures fell 52 cents to settle at $67.95 per barrel, down 0.76%. Foreign ExchangeThe U.S. dollar index, which measures the dollar against six major currencies, rose 0.25% to close at 96.876 in the forex market. At the end of the New York forex market, 1 euro exchanged for $1.1835, down from $1.1871 the previous trading day; 1 pound exchanged for $1.3640, down from $1.3662 the previous trading day. 1 dollar exchanged for 146.72 yen, up from 146.40 yen the previous trading day; 1 dollar exchanged for 0.7886 Swiss francs, up from 0.7864 Swiss francs the previous trading day; 1 dollar exchanged for 1.3771 Canadian dollars, up from 1.3738 Canadian dollars the previous trading day; and 1 dollar exchanged for 9.2787 Swedish kronor, up from 9.2199 Swedish kronor the previous trading day. CryptocurrencyBitcoin fell by 0.57% to $116,110.3, while Ethereum rose by 0.61% to $4,530.9. GoldSpot gold briefly touched a historical high of $3,707.46, but ultimately gave up its gains and fell by 0.82% to $3,659.59. Following the Fed's rate decision, "new bond king" Gundlach discussed gold prices, noting that gold broke through $3,700 today. Gundlach pointed out that gold prices have risen by over 100% in the past two years and by 45% so far this year, calling this trend "crazy." He said, "Even gold miners are participating now, indicating that retail investors are joining the momentum trading in the gold market." Gundlach, who has always been bullish on gold, previously predicted that gold prices would reach $4,000 earlier this year. Today, he went further to forecast that gold prices would rise another $340 from current levels, an increase of about 9.2%. He said, "I think that by the end of the year, gold prices will almost certainly close above $4,000." Macro News Powell hints that the Fed is shifting its policy focus from inflation to employment. Federal Reserve Chairman Powell emphasized that given signs that the labor market is "really cooling," the Fed is leaning towards maximizing employment after long-term focus on inflation. He said that since April, the sustained high inflation risks have decreased, in part due to slowing job growth. The Fed's basic assumption is that the impact of tariffs on inflation may be temporary. On the other hand, the downside risks to the labor market have increased, with new job growth appearing to be lower than what is needed to maintain the so-called "full employment rate." Federal Reserve dot plot interpretation: 9 officials expect two more rate cuts this year. The Federal Reserve dot plot shows that after the September rate decision, among 19 officials, 1 official believes there should be 1 rate hike this year, 6 officials believe there should be no further rate cuts this year (2 in June), 2 officials believe there should be another 25-basis-point rate cut this year (8 in June), 9 officials believe there should be two more rate cuts by 2025 (2 in June), and 1 official believes there should be a 125-basis-point rate cut by 2025, meaning there should be at least two rate cuts of 50 basis points or more this year (0 in June). Milan's Fed debut: Cast the only dissenting vote. Just 24 hours into office, Federal Reserve Board member Stephen Milan cast the only dissenting vote against the 25-basis-point rate cut in September, instead voting for a larger 50-basis-point cut. Analysts had speculated that Fed Board members Waller and Bowman, appointed by Trump, might also be dissenters in favor of a larger rate cut, but both chose to support the majority's 25-basis-point move. Despite being skeptical about rate cuts in recent months, hawkish Kansas City Fed President Schmid also raised his hand to support the 25-basis-point rate cut. U.S. butter prices hit a three-year low, demand remains strong but "oversupply". Over the past few years, as demand for butter in the U.S. continued to rise, the dairy industry has on one hand raised cows with higher butterfat content and on the other hand expanded production facilities to meet market demand - but it now seems they may have overdone it. Although demand remains strong, concerns of butter oversupply have arisen as seasonally high production nears historical peak levels, with U.S. butter prices hitting their lowest point in over three years. On Monday, butter futures prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange hit their lowest levels since November 2021, with milk futures prices used to make butter also experiencing similar declines. Corey Geiger, Chief Dairy Economist at agricultural lending institution American Farmers & Ranchers Bank, said this is not a demand-side issue; it appears we have simply produced too much. Individual Stock News Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) to pay $6.2 billion to lease AI computing power in Norway. According to reports, Microsoft Corporation will pay $6.2 billion to lease AI computing power in Norway. Nscale Global Holdings, a UK data center company, and Aker ASA, a Norwegian investment company, said in a statement on Wednesday that they will provide this computing power. The project will be powered by "guaranteed grid capacity and fully renewable energy." The world's largest software maker has been renting more cloud capacity from third-party suppliers like Coreweave recently. Last week, Microsoft Corporation signed a $19.4 billion deal with Nebius. These so-called "new clouds" typically use high-performance chips from NVIDIA Corporation to provide computing power for AI services. Earlier this week, Microsoft announced another partnership with Nscale to develop a data center with over 23,000 advanced graphics processing units near London. Microsoft Corporation said it will spend around $15 billion on cloud infrastructure in the UK over the next four years. Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B (NVO.US): The oral version of the weight loss drug Wegovy is nearly as effective as the injectable version in weight loss trials. After-hours on September 17th, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B's gains expanded by over 2%. According to reports, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B has submitted a new drug application, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review before the end of the year. The oral version of Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B's weight loss drug Wegovy showed nearly the same effects as the injectable version in weight loss trials. In a newly published study, Novo Nordisk A/S Sponsored ADR Class B's 25 mg oral semaglutide (Wegovy tablets*) achieved a weight loss effect of 16.6% in obese individuals. The 25 mg oral semaglutide version showed improvements in daily physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors, with safety and tolerability characteristics consistent with injectable Wegovy. Major Bank Ratings Barclays: Raises Dell Technologies, Inc. Class C (DELL.US) target price to $133 from $131 Citigroup: Raises McDonald's Corporation (MCD.US) target price to $381 from $373 Haitong International: Raises Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) target price to $200 from $160.