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Financial Markets                      11/07 15:35

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- Most U.S. stocks rose Thursday, as the Federal Reserve cut 
interest rates again to make things easier for the economy.

   The S&P 500 climbed 0.7% to add to its surge from the day before following 
Donald Trump's presidential victory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 
virtually unchanged and edged down by less than a point, while the Nasdaq 
composite rallied 1.5%.

   The Fed's announcement that it was easing its main interest rate caused few 
ripples in the market because even the precise size of it was so well 
anticipated by investors.

   The central bank began easing rates in September and indicated more cuts 
were likely to come, as it focuses more on keeping the job market humming after 
helping get inflation nearly down to its 2% target. What's less certain in the 
minds of investors now is how much Trump's victory may upset the Fed's plans.

   Trump is pushing for tariffs and other policies that economists say could 
drive inflation higher, along with the economy's growth. Traders have already 
begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next 
year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also 
give inflation more fuel.

   For now, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said, nothing is changing. "In the near 
term, the election will have no effects" on interest-rate policy, he said.

   With any president, Powell said the Fed looks at possible policy changes and 
simulates how they could affect the economy. Only after looking at the overall 
effect of all the policies do Fed officials decide how that should shape where 
interest rates go. And at this point, Powell said it's still not clear what the 
policies will be after Trump returns to the White House.

   "We don't guess, we don't speculate and we don't assume," he said.

   On Wall Street, healthcare services company McKesson helped drive the market 
by jumping 10.6% after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than 
analysts expected.

   Lyft revved up by 22.8% after the ride-hailing app breezed past Wall 
Street's sales and profit expectations, and Ralph Lauren rose 6.6% after 
customers in Asia and Europe helped it deliver a bigger profit than expected.

   They helped make up for bank stocks, which gave back some of their stellar 
gains from the day before. Other "Trump trades" that had rocketed higher after 
the election also lost some of their juice.

   JPMorgan Chase fell 4.3%, a day after banks decisively led the market on 
expectations that a stronger economy and lighter regulation would mean fatter 
profits. It and Goldman Sachs were the biggest reasons for the Dow Jones 
Industrial Average's slight loss.

   Smaller U.S. stocks also lagged the market, with the Russell 2000 index down 
0.4%. A day before, it more than doubled the S&P 500's gain on expectations 
that Trump's America-First priorities would most benefit smaller, more 
domestically focused companies.

   The stock that's become most synonymous with the president-elect, Trump 
Media & Technology Group, fell 23%.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 44.06 points to 5,973.10. The Dow edged down by 
0.59 to 43,729.34, and the Nasdaq composite gained 285.99 to 19,269.46.

   In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.33% from 
4.44% late Wednesday. It gave back a chunk of its surge from the prior day, 
driven by expectations that Trump's plans for higher tariffs, lower tax rates 
and lighter regulation could lead to bigger economic growth, U.S. government 
debt and inflation.

   A report on Thursday showed slightly more U.S. workers applied for 
unemployment benefits, though the number remains relatively low. A separate 
report suggested U.S. workers improved their productivity during the summer, 
which can help keep a lid on inflation, but not by quite as much as economists 
expected.

   In stock markets abroad, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.3% after the Bank of 
England cut its own interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point.

   In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.3% amid worries about the potential 
for a revival of trade tensions under a Trump administration.

   "I think everybody's going to be worried about Trump's tariffs because 
that's one of the things in his playbook. And so we'll have to see how things 
develop in the early stages of his presidency this time," said Neil Newman, 
head of strategy for Astris Advisory Japan.

   Stocks rallied 2% in Hong Kong and 2.6% in Shanghai rallied after the 
Chinese government reported exports jumped in October at the fastest pace in 
more than two years.

   Trump has promised to slap blanket 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports, 
raising them still more if Beijing makes a move to invade the self-governing 
island of Taiwan. That would add to the burdens Beijing is facing as it 
struggles to revive slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.

   But the impact may be less drastic than feared, Zichun Huang of Capital 
Economics said in a report.

   "We expect shipments to stay strong in the coming months --- any drag from 
potential Trump tariffs may not materialize until the second half of next 
year," Huang said.

   ___

   AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this 
report.

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