Dow Hates Rate Cut; Wait, No It Doesn't

Yesterday, the Dow had an 11 percent rally. This afternoon, the Dow had a mini-rally.

Both were in anticipation of an expected interest rate cut from the Fed, which the markets generally like.

So what happened to the Dow in the moments following the Fed's announcement about 15 minutes ago?

Fell off the table.

In the moments before the rate cut was announced, the Dow was up about 100 points.

In the moments following the announcement, the Dow dropped 100 points. Now, it's already back to even on the day.

One answer is that the markets had expected exactly what they got -- a half-point cut. So that was already priced in to today's trading. The "reaction" right after the announcement may not have been a reaction at all; the swing could have been based on any number of factors.

Richard Cripps, chief investment officer at Stifel Nicolaus, said he did not expect to “get a lot of upside mileage from the rate cut, because it was so widely expected.”

Veteran UBS New York Stock Exchange floor chief Art Cashin, speaking on CNBC moments ago, said he thinks yesterday's historic rally has legs. We'll see.

-- Frank Ahrens and Kim Hart