By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: September 19, 2024 ~ The Federal Reserve yesterday cut its benchmark interest rate, the Fed Funds rate, for the first time in four years. The cut was by half a point rather than the customary quarter point increments typical of Fed rate moves. Only one member of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), Michelle Bowman, voted against the action. Bowman wanted a quarter point cut according to the FOMC announcement. A Fed rate cut of a quarter point to a half point was widely anticipated by the market, so the stock market’s wild swings were puzzling to veteran Wall Street watchers. The FOMC released its written announcement at 2 p.m. As the chart above indicates, the written announcement produced a surge in the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an intraday high of 41,981.97, which was also an all-time high on an intraday basis. But within … Continue reading The Stock Market Had a Psychotic Episode After the Fed Rate Cut Yesterday, Plunging 479 Points from the Day’s High