Wall Street Today: US stocks open higher as investors focus on rate cut bets as Trump picks Powell's replacement

Wall Street Today: US stock markets opened higher on Thursday, 26 June 2025, as investors focused their attention on a potential rate cut after Donald Trump, on his way to the NATO Summit 2025, said that he would announce his pick for US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's replacement. 

“I know three or four people whom I gotta pick, he (Jerome Powell) goes out pretty soon for sure, cause I think he is terrible,” US President Donald Trump told reporters at the NATO Summit 2025.

According to theWall Street Journal's report, the US President announced his plans to select a candidate as his pick for the US Federal Reserve Chairman's position and current Chairman Jerome Powell's replacement.

As per the law, the President nominates a Fed Chairperson and two vice chairpersons for a term of four years. However, these nominations have to be approved by the Senate through the voting system, according to multiple media reports. 

Dow Jones Today

At 9:30 a.m. (EDT), Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.24 per cent to open at 43,084.07 points on Thursday, 26 June 2025, compared to 42,982.43 points at the previous market close.

According to Marketwatch data, the index was trading 0.64 per cent higher at 43,256.34 points as of 11:32 a.m. (EDT).

Boeing Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Caterpillar Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Nike Inc., 3M Co., UnitedHealth Group Inc., Honeywell International Group Inc., Travelers Cos. Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Chevron Corp., Walt Disney Co., Amgen Inc., Nvidia Corp., and American Express Co., were among other shares which were the top gainers on Thursday's market session.

Mercck & Co. Inc., McDonald's Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., Visa Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Walmart Inc., Sherwin-Williams Co., Apple Inc., and Procter & Gamble Co. were the top losers on 26 June 2025. 

S&P 500 Today

The S&P 500 index opened 0.33 per cent higher at 6,112.09 points​, compared to 6,092.16 points at the previous US market close. The index is currently trading 0.59 per cent higher at 6,128.37 points as of 11:45 a.m. (EDT), according to Marketwatch data.

Enphase Energy Inc., Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Albemarle Corp., Arista Networks Inc., McCormick & Co. Inc., Cigna Group, Incyte Corp., Dell Technologies Inc., APA Corp., and Super Micro Computer Inc. were among the top gains on Thursday.

While other companies like Equinix Inc., Fair Isaac Corp., Iron Mountain Inc., Digital Realty Trust Inc., Abbott Laboratories, MarketAxess Holdings Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Clorox Co., were the top laggards on the US market session on Thursday, as per Marketwatch data. 

Nasdaq Today

The Nasdaq Composite index also rose 0.44% to open at 20,062.187 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 26 June 2025, compared to 19,973.55 points at the previous market session. The tech-heavy index was trading 0.65 per cent higher at 20,104.65 points as of 12:00 p.m. (EDT), according to Marketwatch data. 

Companies like CYNGN Inc., Ascent Solar Technologies Inc., Vor Biopharma Inc., KWESST Micro Systems Inc., Live Ventures Inc., Adial Pharmaceuticals Inc., Distoken Acquisition Corp., bioAffinity Technologies Inc., Kewaunee Scientific Corp., and Critical Metals Corp. were among the top losers of the day on Nasdaq. 

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