Bonds & Stocks
Contracts on the Nasdaq 100 spiked 1.1% as traders shook off a choppy stretch that followed the Fed’s quarter-point move on Wednesday. S&P 500 futures advanced 0.7%. US government bonds pared gains, with the 10-year yield slipping one basis point lower to 4.08%. The dollar extended its post-Fed advance. While stocks initially fluctuated in the hours after the Fed’s decision, investors on Thursday turned their focus to projections showing some policymakers penciling in two more reductions for 2025, adding one more cut than they saw in June.
Economy
Initial applications for jobless benefits in the US dropped by 33,000 to 231,000 in the week ended Sept. 13, according to Labor Department data. The decline unwinds a large jump in the prior week, when initial claims rose to the highest level in nearly four years, with the prior week's jump reflected layoffs in multiple industries. The overall drop in initial claims suggests companies are still holding onto workers in an uncertain economic environment, with the four-week moving average of initial claims little changed at 240,000.
World
Canada is seeing a sharp increase in asylum-seekers entering through a border crossing between New York and the province of Quebec, driven by President Trump’s policies. Canadian officials have received more than 5,500 asylum claims since the beginning of July at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing, a 263% increase from the same period last year with Haitians being the largest group, followed by US citizens and Venezuelans.