Fed Chair Powell's surprising words may cause mortgage rate tumble

Thursday, October 16, 2025

Stocks opened nicely but the gains faded into the afternoon. This may be the product of the U.S.-China trade dispute, which is devolving into insults as much as anything.

The S&P 500 was up as many as 38 points not long after the open. By midday, the index was up less than a point at 6,669. The Dow Jones industrials, up as many as 169 points, were down 44 points to 46,210. The Nasdaq Composite saw its 94-point gain on the day shrink to just 35 points.

One reason for the fade appears to be President Donald Trump’s post that he was speaking with Russia President Vladimir Putin about Ukraine and other matters. Supposedly, Trump would speak later with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The US was talking about arming Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles. It may be fair to say there were concerns Trump would not follow through with aid commitments.

Thursday Reading:.

• After a low period, biotech stocks are on the upswing
• Best Buy CEO raises a red flag on an alarming economic trend
• Amazon makes harsh product change, angering customers
• Fast-casual-restaurant chain closes all locations in major makeover
• SpaceX rival poised to take off, thanks to boost from Morgan Stanley

Only four S&P 500 sectors were ahead on the day: Real Estate, Technology, Health care and Communication Services. Alphabet is the key member of that last group and reached a 52-week high of $250.09.

Walmart also hit a 52-week high early in the day.

Crude was off 8 cents to $57.77 per barrel. Gold and silver were soaring. Gold, up $94 to $4,296, briefly topped $4,300 per troy ounce. Silver was up $2.09 to $53.47.

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Fed Chair Powell's surprising words may cause mortgage rate tumble

It's not just interest rate cuts that could impact homebuyers.

[READ ARTICLE]

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