Fed Holds Rates Steady, Inflation and GDP Due, Microsoft Beats as Alphabet Misses
By Tom LoBianco | Quincy News Correspondent
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Washington (Quincy News) — Market Recap: U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. The Dow rose 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained 0.3%.
Microsoft beat earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $92.3 billion in revenue, including $33.17 billion from Azure. Shares gained nearly 3% in after-hours trading.
Alphabet reported $127.6 billion in revenue, up 25%, including $30.7 billion from Google Cloud, but profit missed Wall Street expectations after an $8.7 billion investment loss. Shares fell about 10% after hours as search advertising growth slowed and free cash flow turned negative due to heavy AI spending.
Treasury yields edged higher, with the 10-year back above 5% at about 5.02% and the 30-year near 5.35%. Brent crude settled at $115.32 a barrel and WTI at $102.78 after reports that the U.S. told Gulf nations to prepare for possible strikes on Iran after the Nov. 3 midterms. Israel’s election produced no clear winner.
Today’s Focus: Fresh readings on growth and inflation arrive at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the first estimate of third-quarter GDP and September’s personal income and spending report, including the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index. The figures will help shape expectations for the Fed’s final policy meeting of the year in December.
Eli Lilly’s sales jumped 39% to $24.4 billion as demand for its diabetes and weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound kept growing. The drugmaker sold 53% more medicine than a year ago, even as the average price it collected fell 15%. It raised its full-year sales forecast but lowered its profit outlook because of one-time costs from deals for experimental drugs.
Amazon and Intel report after the market closes.
ON THE SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2026
-Before the market opens – Eli Lilly earnings
-8:30 a.m. ET – Third-quarter GDP advance estimate; September personal income and spending, including PCE inflation; and weekly initial jobless claims
-9:15 a.m. ET – European Central Bank interest-rate decision
-9:45 a.m. ET – ECB press conference
-Thursday, after the market closes – Amazon and Intel earnings
-Friday, before the market opens – ExxonMobil and Chevron earnings
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