Fed Holds Rates, Oil Jumps on Iran Blockade, Earnings
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- Federal Reserve held its key interest rate steady, its most divided meeting since 1992, leading to mixed index moves – Dow down 0.57%, S&P 500 down 0.04%, Nasdaq up 0.04%.
- Crude oil prices rose after the White House confirmed President Trump told officials to prepare for a prolonged blockade of Iranian ports, prompting supply‑disruption concerns in the Strait of Hormuz.
- Tech giants Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft posted after‑hours earnings; Alphabet gained >3%, Amazon and Microsoft fell >3%, and Meta dropped >6%.
- Data‑storage firms Seagate, SanDisk, and Western Digital rallied on Seagate’s upbeat Q4 forecast, with Seagate up 11.1% and peers gaining 5‑6%.
- Starbucks shares jumped 8.5% after the coffee chain lifted its annual profit outlook.
- Visa rose 8.3% after the payments processor raised its full‑year earnings forecast.
Why it matters: Investors see the Fed’s hold as a pause on monetary tightening, but rising oil prices from the Iran‑related blockade pressure inflation and corporate margins, benefitting energy‑linked stocks while hurting consumer‑focused firms; the split earnings of AI‑heavy megacaps and the rally in data‑storage and payment processors highlight where growth expectations diverge.
