Nvidia hits $5 trillion in market valueAlphabet, Microsoft and Meta report after the closeCaterpillar shares jump after resultsIndexes: Dow down 0.2%, S&amp;P 500 flat; Nasdaq up 0.6%By Caroline ValetkevitchNEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - The Dow ended lower and the S&amp;P 500 finished nearly flat on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said another rate cut in December is far from assured. The Nasdaq registered another record closing high, boosted by Nvidia (NVDA.O) after the AI chipmaker made history as the first company to reach $5 trillion in market value.In earlier trading, stocks rose and then added to gains after the Fed cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, and said it will restart limited purchases of Treasury securities.Fed policymakers also noted the limits in their decision-making process due to the U.S. federal government shutdown. The Fed lowered the overnight benchmark rate to a target range of 3.75% to 4.00%, the second time the U.S. central bank eased this year.After Powell spoke, traders pared bets on a December rate cut, giving it a 71% chance, down from 90%.“Chairman Powell indicated that another rate cut is not a foregone conclusion,” said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and advisor for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut.“But no rate cut is ever a foregone conclusion. So, to me, that is not an inappropriate comment. The (Fed) is data dependent.”Nvidia’s stock ended Wednesday’s session up 3% at $207.04, giving it a stock market value of $5.03 trillion. It has risen more than 50% this year, leading the artificial intelligence rally on Wall Street.The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 74.37 points, or 0.16%, to 47,632.00, the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX) lost 0.30 points to 6,890.59 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) gained 130.98 points, or 0.55%, to 23,958.47.“The rate cut was expected. Powell’s remarks took some shine off the market,” said Michael Rosen, chief investment officer at Angeles Investments in Santa Monica, California. “But this is a temporary reaction. It is earnings that ultimately drive equities, and those earnings have been strong.”The majority of U.S. earnings results so far this reporting period have beaten analysts’ expectations. Of the 222 companies in the S&amp;P 500 that have reported so far, some 84.2% have posted earnings above Wall Street estimates, according to data compiled by LSEG as of Wednesday. That is above the 77% average from the past four quarters.Among Wednesday’s key results, Caterpillar (CAT.N) reported a third-quarter profit that beat expectations, and its shares jumped 11.6%.But after the closing bell, shares of Meta Platforms (META.O) , Microsoft (MSFT.O) and Alphabet (GOOGL.O) were mixed after the three megacaps released their quarterly reports.Shares of Meta Platforms were down more than 8% in extended trading, while Microsoft was down 1% and Alphabet was up about 5%.Metarecordeda nearly $16 billion one-time charge in the third quarter related to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” and said its capital expenditure next year would be “notably larger” than in 2025.Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 476 new highs and 170 new lows on the NYSE.On the Nasdaq, 1,453 stocks rose and 3,306 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.28-to-1 ratio.Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.71 billion shares, compared with the 21 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

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The Dow ended down 0.2% while the S&P 500 was nearly flat after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, with Chair Jerome Powell indicating that a December rate cut is uncertain. Nvidia reached a $5 trillion market value, boosting the Nasdaq, which rose 0.6%. Caterpillar shares jumped 11.6% after strong earnings, while Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet reported mixed results post-market. Overall, 84.2% of S&P 500 companies exceeded earnings expectations this quarter.

- The Dow ended lower and the S&P 500 was nearly flat after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, while Nvidia became the first company to reach a $5 trillion market value.  
- The Nasdaq closed at a record high, driven by Nvidia's 3% stock increase, despite mixed results from major companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Alphabet.  
- Overall, 84.2% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings exceeded expectations, indicating strong performance in the current earnings season.

US STOCKS-Dow ends down, S&P 500 near flat as Powell says December rate cut far from assured