The Fed announced a rate slash of half a percentage point, lowering the federal funds rate target range to 4.75-5%. According to median forecasts, the Fed is expected to cut rates by another 50 bps or half a percentage point by the end of this year.

The market is closely watching the Bank of England (BOE) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ), which will announce their interest rate decisions today and tomorrow, respectively. The BOE is expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged.

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Major stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region generally rallied today (19th), with several major markets hitting historical highs or new stage highs. Major European stock markets also thrived across the board in Thursday's early trading.

Futures for the three major US stock indexes expanded their gains during the European trading session. The DJIA futures last grew 464 points or 1.1%. S&P 500 futures added 86 points or 1.5%. The Nasdaq futures advanced 398 points or 2%.

Heavyweight tech stocks that are interest rate-sensitive performed positively in pre-market trading. Amazon (AMZN.US)      , Oracle (ORCL.US)      , Apple (AAPL.US)      , Microsoft (MSFT.US)      , Meta (META.US)      , and Alphabet (GOOGL.US)      climbed 1.5-2%. Tesla (TSLA.US)      hiked 2.9%. AI chip leader NVIDIA (NVDA.US)      soared 3.4%.
(Real-time Streaming US Stocks Quote; Except All OTC quotes are at least 15 minutes delayed.)

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