Wall Street extends rally from Trump victory, Fed decision on tap
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Major indexes at fresh record highs
US weekly jobless claims increase moderately
Small-caps edge lower, financials fall
Indexes up: Dow 0.16%, S&P 500 0.46%, Nasdaq up 0.88%
Updated at 9:50 a.m. ET/1450 GMT
By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas
Nov 7 (Reuters) -Wall Street's main indexes held on to their gains on Thursday in the run-up to the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision, extending a sharp rally sparked by Donald Trump's stunning comeback as U.S. president for a second time.
Traders have about fully priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut, but will keep a close watch on the central bank's commentary for clues on the future path of monetary easing.
Investor expectations that Trump would lower corporate taxes and loosen regulations had lifted all three major indexes in the previous session.
Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist for LPL Financial said it was the S&P 500's best post-Election Day performance on record.
On Thursday too, all the three major indexes were trading at record highs.
"You have a pretty solid economy ... a Fed that's cutting interest rates and incoming administration that is pretty pro growth and equity markets," said Sameer Samana, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
However, much would depend on the central bank's rate-cut outlook. Traders have already trimmed their bets to just two rate cuts in 2025 on consistently robust economic data and after accounting for the chances of higher inflation stemming from Trump's proposed tariffs and government spending.
"The Fed's commentary about the rate-cut outlook will be particularly important for markets, given the recent post-election surge in bond yields," said Glen Smith, chief investment officer, GDS Wealth Management.
Treasury yields are hovering near multi-month highs, though the benchmark 10-year yield US10YT=RR eased slightly. US/
Meanwhile, some of the Trump trades that surged after his sweeping victory gave back gains, with Trump Media & Technology DJT.O dropping 16%.
After hitting a record high on Wednesday, Financials .SPSY lost 1.1%, led by a 2.9% slide in JPMorgan Chase, which also weighed on the Dow.
The small cap Russell 2000 .RUT slipped 0.1%, but was still trading around three-year highs it touched in the last session.
Information technology sector .SPLRCT rose 1.1.%, while rate-sensitive industrials .SPLRCI edged lower and energy .SPNY lost 0.8%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 71.53 points, or 0.16%, to 43,801.46, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 27.22 points, or 0.46%, to 5,955.73 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 167.47 points, or 0.88%, to 19,150.94.
Data showed U.S. weekly jobless claims rose marginally last week, suggesting no material change in labor market conditions.
Focus is also on whether Republicans could win control of both houses of Congress, making it easier for Trump's policies to be enacted.
Qualcomm shares QCOM.O jumped 1.7% after the chipmaker forecast current-quarter results above estimates, while U.S.-listed shares of chip designer Arm Holdings ARM.O fell 3.1% as its quarterly forecasts disappointed investors.
Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O soared 14.2% after a surprise third-quarter profit.
The VIX .VIX, Wall Street's "fear gauge," was trading at a six-week low.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.95-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 1.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 34 new 52-week highs and one new low, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 121 new highs and 32 new lows.
S&P 500 in the 5 days after presidential election https://tmsnrt.rs/4hk2wgw
Reporting by Lisa Mattackal and Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur
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