Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The S&P 500 (flat), Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%), and DJIA (+0.6%) are off of their session lows, as the broader market appears to be shaking off some of the post-FOMC decision volatility. 

Fed Chair Powell's press conference has proven to be soothing to the market, with particular focus on softening labor conditions bolstering expectations of further cuts to the Fed funds rate this year. 

Mr. Powell noted, "If you weigh the two goals, the risks to inflation are slightly less than before given the softening in the labor market," though he also stated that the FOMC is in a "meeting-by-meeting situation in assessing the policy path."

The communication services sector (+0.2%) has surfaced above its flatline, supporting the index-level move off of session lows. Alphabet (GOOG 250.53, -0.89, -0.35%) now holds just a modest loss after announcing a multiyear strategic partnership focused on advancing several commerce solutions with PayPal (PYPL 68.33, +1.48, +2.21%).