The stock markets are bracing for a volatile day as losses in tech giants Apple and Nvidia might prevent broader gains. The focus shifts to the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision. Meanwhile,

The Federal Reserve opted to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged in its first policy meeting since President Trump's inauguration.

US stocks fall after the Fed held rates steady but suggested the inflation drop has stalled. Meta, Tesla and Microsoft report earnings after the bell.

The semiconductor company's share price was down 7% as of 3:45 p.m. ET amid the backdrop of a 1.8% decline for the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and a 3.5% decline for the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC).

The US Federal Reserve is in no “hurry” to adjust interest rates again, central bank Chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday, after policymakers voted to pause rate cuts in the first decision since Donald Trump’s White House return.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell sharply, mainly due to a sell-off in Nvidia and other chipmakers. This comes amid the rise of a free AI assistant from Chinese startup DeepSeek, raising concerns about U.S.

Affordable, DeepSeek in China competes with AI models from US tech giants Meta (META, Financial) and OpenAI while offering the same performance. Investors were becoming concerned about traditional AI development spending by The Magnificent 7 when they were told DeepSeek was joining the AI market.

The European Central Bank (ECB) cut interest rates again yesterday and signaled more to come as the eurozone economy flatlines, while warning of trade tensions and uncertainty amid US President Donald Trump's protectionist agenda.

Tokyo stocks ended slightly higher Thursday as investors bought semiconductor-related shares after solid earnings reports from Japan'

Meta and Tesla rise as Microsoft slumps, keeping US indices mixed. Investors await Apple and Amazon earnings while GDP and Fed policy weigh on sentiment.

U.S. Representative Lauren Underwood recently presented Lewis University with a symbolic check of $950,000 to support innovation in semiconductor manufacturing through research at Lewis University’s semiconductor innovation and workforce development center.