Power Lunch CNBC

The Federal Reserve held its ground on interest rates, keeping its benchmark short-term borrowing rate between 5.25%-5.50% as stubborn inflation persists.
The federal funds rate has been at that level since July 2023, when the Fed last hiked and took the range to its highest level in more than two decades.
With its decision to hold the line, the committee in its post-meeting statement noted a “lack of further progress” in getting inflation back down to its 2% target.
We’ll break down exactly what that means for markets and your money, right up until Fed Chair Powell’s press conference.

We’re just 24 hours away from the latest Federal Reserve decision on interest rates, with more conflicting economic data coming out today. We’ll discuss the difficult position for the Fed right now.
Plus, the other big piece of the market puzzle right now is earnings. We’ll trade some of the big names which reported results, and preview some more that are on deck.

Stocks are building on Friday’s rally and getting a boost big from Apple, which is contributing to gains for all the major averages. We’ll discuss what it means for markets.
Plus, shares of Tesla are surging on news of Elon Musk’s surprise visit to China, and a deal to get approval for full self-driving there. We’ll get the key details.

Stocks are rebounding today, continuing the turnaround that began late yesterday morning. The Nasdaq is the outperformer today, boosted by strong earnings from Microsoft & Alphabet. We’ll dive into that and much more.

The CNBC Stock Draft is our annual stock-picking competition pitting market professionals, athletes and celebrities against each other. Each team makes two picks from a list of 60 stocks and other investments. The winning team’s stocks garner the highest average price appreciation between the closing prices of April 25th, 2024, and Feb. 7th, 2025.

Earnings season rolls on, with many major companies reporting results. We’ll break down some of the reports we’ve gotten so far, and preview some that have yet to come. Plus, we’re just 24 hours away from one of our favorite days of the year: the CNBC Stock Draft! Analyst Tim Seymour will join us with some key names to watch in this year’s competition.