Wall Street's main stock indexes surged in choppy trading on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by half a percentage point for the first time in more than four years.
In afternoon trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high of 41,981.97 and was last up 196.36 points, or 0.5%, at 41,798.
The blue-chip index closed at a record high of 41,622.08 on Monday.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6%, while the Nasdaq added 0.8%.
Borrowing costs have remained at their highest in more than two decades since July 2023, when the central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 5.25%-5.50% to combat inflation. But the focus has shifted recently to easing the labor market.
Mixed economic data over the past month has investors on edge ahead of some of the Fed's most unpredictable decisions in years.
The market has rallied this year, with all three major indexes hitting record highs, as signs of easing inflation and a gradually cooling job market have raised prospects of lower interest rates.
