Stocks Decline as Odds of Fed Rate Cuts Diminish

US Stock Market Performance: The S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq all experienced significant declines on Thursday, driven by concerns over upcoming economic reports and weakness in technology stocks, particularly chipmakers.

Federal Reserve Outlook: Hawkish comments from several Federal Reserve presidents indicated a preference for maintaining current interest rates, reducing the likelihood of a rate cut at the next FOMC meeting, with market expectations now at 51%.

Government Shutdown Impact: The recent end of the government shutdown is expected to negatively affect GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points for the current quarter, although some recovery is anticipated as federal programs resume.

Corporate Earnings Trends: Despite the market downturn, Q3 earnings reports showed strong performance, with 82% of S&P 500 companies exceeding forecasts, marking the best quarter since 2021, with earnings rising 14.6% year-over-year.