Fed minutes signal September rate cut

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Stocks are moving up
Wall Street rose as minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting and payroll review raised hopes for a rate cut. THE S&P 500 rose 0.42% and is within 1% of its all-time high close. THE Nasdaq Composite increased by 0.57%. Both indices marked their ninth positive day at 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 55.52 points. Meanwhile, the yield on the 10-year Fund shake downwhile US oil prices fell 1.7% below $72 a barrel.

Fed rate cut imminent?
Federal Reserve officials at their July meeting approached the expected rate cutindicating that the September decline was quite likely. “The vast majority” of members “noted that, if data continues to come in roughly as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting,” a summary of minutes from the Fed’s last meeting showed. The purchases are fully priced into a September rate cut. Some officials were inclined to start easing at the July meeting rather than waiting until September, citing progress in inflation and the unemployment rate. Separately, Non-farm payrolls growth was revised downward by 818,000, citing interest rate reductions.

Ford EV shift
Ford Motor it is postponement of production of a next-generation electric truck and canceling plans for a three-row electric SUV, instead prioritizing hybrid models. The move will result in a $400 million charge and up to $1.5 billion in additional costs. Ford will cut its EV capital spending from 40% to 30% as it responds to slower-than-expected EV adoption and profitability challenges.

Microsoft recall
Microsoft plans to present it controversial Recall AI search feature; for Windows users to test in October. Recall captures screenshots of on-screen activity, raising security concerns about potentially exposing personal information to hackers. While the feature will be disabled by default and Microsoft is committed to beefing up security, the company hasn’t provided a timeline for a wider Windows Rollback release.

Asian markets are mixed
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region were mixed as investors assessed business data from Japan and Australia. of Japan Nikkei 225 and Australia rose 0.42% S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.26%. of South Korea Kospi fell as the Bank of Korea kept interest rates unchanged, but retained the possibility of future relaxation. of Hong Kong Hang Seng Index It rose 0.4 percent, while mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 0.23 percent.

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Passagedecision of to slowing the pace of its electric vehicle expansion and the shift to hybrid technology probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. Consumers aren’t particularly enamored with the prospect of paying premium prices for limited-range vehicles whose the value plummets drastically compared to vehicles with an internal combustion engine.

Amid obstacles to electric vehicles, the road to net zero emissions by 2050 looks bumpy. Although Ford is not alone, OPEC and the International Energy Agency are at odds over when peak oil demand will occur. The ILO, an adviser to rich industrialized countries, brought the forecast for 2029. OPEC, on the other hand, sees no peak in oil demand in its long-term forecasts.

OPEC predicts demand will rise to 116 million barrels per day by 2045, while the IEA predicts a peak of 105.6 million barrels within the next five years. OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais criticized the IEA report as “dangerous comment,” warning that it could lead to unprecedented volatility in the energy market, particularly for consumers.

Amid extended forecasts and tepid uptake of electric vehicles, it’s perhaps no surprise that Aramco, the Saudi oil giant, bought a 10% stake in engine manufacturer Horse Powertrainsa partnership between France’s Renault and China’s Geely. The consortium provides for it half the vehicles on the road by 2040 it will still be powered by internal combustion engines.

With Horse Powertrains car manufacturers can stop producing their own engines and source them from the company. Horse CEO Matias Giannini told the Financial Times“If you’re a car company today and you’re 100% focused on EVs and you suddenly realize that in one area your customers want a hybrid vehicle, you could work with Horse Powertrains.”

Saudi Arabia, however, does not want to lose out on electric vehicles and is also investing in pure electric ventures such as Lucid Groupwho recently received a $1.5 billion in much-needed investment. In addition, the country is developing its own EV brand, Cheersin collaboration with Foxconn.

Ford’s decision to slow its EV expansion was welcomed by investors, sending the stock up 1.6%. As for the broader market, it shook off earlier losses and rose after the Fed’s minutes from its July meeting signaled a possible rate cut.

With nonfarm payrolls revised sharply lower, LPL Financial Chief Economist Jeffery Raoch suggests The Fed may opt for a further rate cut in September.

“A worsening labor market will allow the Fed to emphasize both sides of the dual mandate, and investors should expect the Fed to prime markets for a cut at the September meeting,” Roach said. “A weaker-than-expected labor market could pave the way for the Fed to cut by half a percentage point in September.”

— CNBC’s Jeff Cox, Alex Harring, Samantha Subin, Pia Singh, Jordan Novet, Michael Wayland, Melissa Repko, Spencer Kimball, Lim Hui Jie and Weizhen Tan contributed to this report.