Wall St wavers as Fed review looms, Nvidia cleared to sell to China

Stocks on Wall Street were mixed as investors prepare for the US Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy review, which is expected to deliver another cut to the benchmark rate, while JP Morgan Chase slid after the bank’s chief of consumer and community banking Marianne Lake warned of the fragile consumer environment.

Nvidia dipped despite US President Donald Trump clearing the chipmaker to sell H200 chips to China, watering down some of the national security restrictions on sales of high-tech products to the world’s second-biggest economy.

Sharesies favourite Rocket Lab nudged higher after securing research and development funding from Canada’s space agency to speed the development of a new reaction wheel used in repositioning spacecraft while they’re in orbit.

And the kiwi dollar gave up some of yesterday’s gains against the Aussie after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s governor Michelle Bullock ruled out further rate cuts, with the central bank more concerned about inflationary pressures in the so-called Lucky Country.

Waiting for Jerome

Stocks on Wall Street were mixed ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy review, which is expected to cut the federal funds rate a quarter-point to a range of 3.5%-to-3.75%. Traders have been paring back their expectations for further reductions in 2026 by a divided Fed, where inflation hawks worry cutting too quickly will be difficult to unwind.

US National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett, a frontrunner to replace Fed chair Jerome Powell next year, said there’s plenty of room to cut rates in the coming months, while stressing he would resist political pressure if he was appointed to the role.

The kiwi dollar was little changed at 57.79 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 57.86 cents. Westpac New Zealand’s hike in two- through five-year mortgage rates yesterday reaffirmed expectations that the Reserve Bank is at the bottom of its easing cycle.

JP Morgan Chase Corp led the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower, with the bank falling 4.1% after consumer and community banking chief executive Marianne Lake warned of a more fragile consumer environment.

The Dow was down 0.2% in late trading, while the S&P 500 nudged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.2%.

Nvidia slipped 0.4% in late trading, even as it secured approval from the White House to sell its more powerful H200 chips to Chinese buyers as President Donald Trump walked back some of the national security restrictions on exports to the world’s second-biggest economy.

To the moon

Rocket Lab was the second-most traded US security among Sharesies users in the session, nudging up 1.3% to US$52.24 after the company secured a C$1 million grant from the Canadian Space Agency’s R&D programme to accelerate the development of a new reaction wheel at its Toronto facility. Reaction wheels help spacecraft with repositioning while in orbit.

Stocks across the Atlantic were mixed with the UK’S FTSE 100 marginally lower and France’s CAC 40 dipping 0.7%, while Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.5%, with German exports unexpectedly growing in October.

Australian futures are pointing to a 0.3% gain for the resources-heavy S&P/ASX 200 index when trading opens across the Tasman. Gold futures were up 0.4% at US$4,234 an ounce at 7am in Auckland.

The kiwi dollar gave up yesterday’s gains against the Aussie, trading at 87.05 Australian cents from 87.32 cents after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michelle Bullock ruling out further rate cuts after the central bank kept the target cash rate at 3.6% yesterday. Bullock said the question is whether the benchmark stays on hold or pushes higher.

“This language opened the door to a possible rate hike as soon as the next meeting in February, with labour market and inflation data leading up to that point key to whether the bank pulls the trigger,” Bank of New Zealand senior markets strategist Jason Wong said in a note. “The market priced in a growing chance of rate hikes through next year with almost two full hikes priced by the end of 2026.”

Local data today include Statistics New Zealand’s travel and migration figures for October, while ANZ New Zealand’s monthly truckometer gauge is also scheduled for release.

On the NZX, retailer Hallenstein Glasson Holdings is hosting shareholders at their annual meeting in Christchurch today, while Trade Window is holding a special meeting to approve a A$5 million placement and Being AI is holding a special meeting to vote on the sale of its Send Global unit.

Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Nicholas Cappello on Unsplash.