How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday, 9/18/2024

Wall Street wavered near its records after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% Wednesday after a day of bobbing higher and lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite gave back 0.3%.

Because the Fed's first cut to interest rates in four years was so well telegraphed, and markets had already moved so much in anticipation of it, Wall Street's reactions weren't that big despite the momentous move by the Fed. Treasury yields edged higher.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 fell 16.32 points, or 0.3%, to 5,618.26.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 103.08 points, or 0.2%, to 41,503.10.

The Nasdaq composite fell 54.76 points, or 0.3%, to 17,573.30.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 0.86 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,206.34.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is down 7.76 points, or 0.1%.

The Dow is up 109.32 points, or 0.3%.

The Nasdaq is down 110.68 points, or 0.6%.

The Russell 2000 is up 23.85 points, or 1.1%.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 848.43 points, or 17.8%.

The Dow is up 3,813.56 points, or 10.1%.

The Nasdaq is up 2,561.95 points, or 17.1%.

The Russell 2000 is up 179.26 points, or 8.8%.