FOMC Holds Rates Steady and Announces Institutional Reform
The US Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision in the early morning of the 29th, voting 10 to 2 to hold rates steady, noting that US economic activity continued to expand and domestic consumer spending remained resilient, but inflation remained elevated. Chair Walsh also announced Federal Reserve institutional reform: the FOMC currently holds 8 meetings per year, and starting in 2028, 2 of those will be shifted to dedicated monetary policy discussions, with only 6 including interest rate votes, indicating an adjustment to the decision-making mechanism.
PCE in Line With Expectations, GDP Beats Expectations
The US Department of Commerce released the September Personal Consumption Expenditures price index on the same day, up 3.6% year-on-year, in line with the market expectation of 3.7%; core PCE excluding volatile items such as food and energy rose 3.1% year-on-year, also in line with market expectations. US third-quarter gross domestic product grew at an annualized quarterly rate of 3.4%, above the market expectation of 3.1%, showing steady economic momentum. As the news continued to be digested, long-term US Treasury yields fluctuated near 5%, with markets focused on the subsequent policy path.
Alphabet Misses While Microsoft Beats
In focus stocks, Alphabet reported third-quarter results after the close on the 28th, with revenue of $127.58 billion, below the market expectation of $128.22 billion; adjusted earnings per share of $2.67, also below the expected $3.02, with AI capital expenditures reaching $51.36 billion. Microsoft reported fiscal 2027 first-quarter results, with revenue of $92.28 billion, above the market expectation of $90.63 billion, and earnings per share of $4.89 also beating expectations, with cloud business revenue up 30% year-on-year as the earnings highlight.
Four Major Indexes Fall Together, Taiex Futures Night Session Weakens
As of press time, all four major US stock indexes opened lower: the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 224.18 points or 0.43%, the S&P 500 fell 32.89 points or 0.42%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 343.16 points or 1.29%, and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 189.58 points or 1.62%. Among individual stocks, only Microsoft rose $5.03 or 0.95%, Alphabet fell $41.62 or 12.93%, UMC ADR fell $0.91 or 4.86%, and TSMC ADR fell $6.41 or 1.46%. In addition, Taiex futures in the night session fell 254 points, provisionally reported at 46315 points as of around 21:38, Digital Technology figures are all updated before press time, please refer to actual quotes for stock prices.