Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on November 20, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
U.S. stocks rallied on Friday after New York Fed President William Williams suggested the central bank could cut interest rates again later this year.
of Dow Jones Industrial Average Increased by 709 points (1.6%). of S&P500 rose 1.3%, but Nasdaq Composite It advanced by 1.1%.
“We view monetary policy to be moderately restrictive, albeit somewhat looser than prior to recent actions,” Williams said in a speech in Santiago, Chile. “Therefore, I believe there is still room for further adjustments in the target range for the federal funds rate in the near term to move the policy stance closer to the neutral range and thereby maintain balance between achieving our two goals.”
Comments from prominent Fed directors like Mr. Williams suggested to investors that central bank leaders are likely to lower the benchmark overnight borrowing rate at their next meeting in December. The move raised traders’ expectations that the central bank may actually cut interest rates for the third time in 2025 next month.
Federal funds futures currently price in about a 70% chance of a quarter-point rate cut, according to the CME FedWatch tool, up from less than 40% a day earlier.
The market’s return was led by stocks that could benefit most from lower interest rates that could stimulate consumer spending. These include: home depot, starbucks and mcdonalds. Investors are hoping that accommodative monetary policy will revive the depressed economy and justify historically high valuations for tech stocks.
“We definitely think there should be cuts,” Jay Hatfield, founder and CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, said in an interview with CNBC. “It depends on the next…jobs report. It’s going to take some pretty weak policy to convince people to make cuts.”
Wall Street is emerging from last session’s violent market reversal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 700 points at one point on Thursday as investors cheered the blockbuster success of Nvidia’s third-quarter earnings report. The benchmark ended the day sharply lower, as did the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, as Nvidia’s gains stalled and concerns grew that the Fed would keep interest rates on hold in December.
Even taking Friday’s moves into account, the average of the three major stocks is still headed for significant declines this week. The S&P 500, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is down about 2% since the beginning of the week. The Nasdaq fell about 3%.
When discussing the recent pressures, Hatfield believes “this is a normal, seasonal, post-earnings valuation decline,” adding that “the bubble part of the market is dissipating.”
For that, Bitcoindown about 2% on Friday, taking its week-to-date loss to more than 10%. Cryptocurrencies have fallen to levels not seen since April as investors refrain from taking risks in the market.
“The only real question is, ‘Where will we bottom?'” the CEO said of the market as a whole.
