The Fed held its benchmark rate at 3.75-4.00% on Oct. 28. The vote was 10-2, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack calling for a 25bp hike. Chair Warsh said the economic expansion is strong and inflation is elevated, and that political considerations played no role. The market reads the outcome as hinting at a small additional hike later this year. One report said it was the first time since December 2025 that the S&P 500 rose on a Fed decision day (unconfirmed).

The Monetary Policy Board held the benchmark rate at 3.00% on Oct. 22, pausing after consecutive hikes in July and August. Governor Shin Hyun-song said the hold does not signal the end of tightening and that the bank will decide after looking at third-quarter GDP and October inflation. Oil prices, housing market jitters and chip-led growth leave demand-side price pressure in place, so a further hike on Nov. 26 is being discussed. Community posts also mentioned that the Bank of Canada raised rates, suggesting hawkishness is spreading.

The Fed held rates in a 10-2 vote at its October FOMC meeting. September's hike was the first since 2023, and the market now puts the odds of another hike in December at between about two-thirds and three-quarters.

The S&P 500 closed at 7,743.98 (+0.28%), the Nasdaq at 26,549.85 (+0.27%) and the Dow at 52,475.10 (+0.19%). One report said it was the first time since December 2025 that the S&P 500 rose on a Fed decision day, but we could not verify this in the article text.

Third-quarter search revenue came in at $63.35 billion, below expectations (about $64.9 billion), and the stock fell roughly 7-10% after hours. The regular-session close was $321.89 (+1.60%), and cloud revenue grew 103%. A mention of a halt to share buybacks comes from a single source and needs confirmation.

Microsoft posted better-than-expected results on Azure growth and rose after hours. Combined capex plans this year for Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon total as much as $600 billion.

Operating profit rose 632% year over year, beating the market forecast of 77.5 trillion won. The stock gained more than 10% in Seoul, and the company plans 100 trillion won in shareholder returns this year.

Since the Iran war began in late February, oil prices have driven rate expectations. On Oct. 28, WTI closed at $102.01 (+2.11%) while Brent diverged at $110.78 (-2.72%). The WSJ reported that the US told Gulf states to prepare for a short, sharp military operation after the November midterms, but this is a single source.

The 10-year yield is at 5.045% (+5.2bp) and the 30-year at 5.361% (+5.6bp). The dollar index is at 102.139 (-0.18%) and gold at $4,072.

The KOSPI rose 374.10 points, and the KOSDAQ gained 3.69% to close at 771.28. A buy-side sidecar was triggered early in the session (the 54th this year), and the electrical and electronics sector rose 9.02%.

On the KOSPI, foreign investors were net buyers of 815.8 billion won and institutions of 960.8 billion won, while individuals were net sellers of 1.7766 trillion won. SK hynix rose 10.89% (1,487,000 won) and Samsung Electronics 9.01% (242,000 won). Third-quarter revenue was 104.6 trillion won. News of more than 60 trillion won in additional returns, along with Anthropic's IPO and an AI chip contract, also supported sentiment.

The KOSDAQ closed at 771.28, with 1,141 advancers and 527 decliners. Institutions were net buyers of 223.9 billion won, while foreigners were net sellers of 184.9 billion won. Rainbow Robotics rose 15.08%, Simmtech 8.79% and Wonik IPS 6.08%.

The bank held after consecutive hikes in July and August. Governor Shin Hyun-song said the hold does not signal the end of tightening. October CPI on Nov. 2 and the Nov. 26 policy meeting are the next variables.

Exports rose 105.4% year over year, or $4.74 billion per day on average (+65.9%). Semiconductors rose 222.5% and account for 44.7% of the total. The trade surplus is $14.5 billion (preliminary).

The board approved 90-110 trillion won in shareholder returns this year in August, and a payout of about 30 trillion won including the regular third-quarter dividend is being discussed. The details will be fixed at the board meeting in late October. Some expressed disappointment that the 15 trillion won share buyback is for employee compensation and falls short of expectations for cancellation.

The KOSPI is at 5,859.55 (-152.89) and the KOSDAQ at 743.38 (-27.90). At the same time, the Nikkei was flat at +0.15% and the Hang Seng at +0.10%, and USD/KRW is at 1,333.38 won (+0.50%).

Despite a 25% revenue gain, Alphabet's FCF fell to about $9.07B and operating profit of $40.58B missed the $43.19B estimate. The interpretation is that the market is questioning the speed of investment payback, not demand. This contrasts with cloud growth of +103% ($30.71B).

A serious counterargument that emerged even amid loss-screenshot memes. In the same thread, one post cites BofA's forecast of roughly $300B in 2027 capex to argue the AI cycle will be extended. On the other side, those who read Oracle's capex cap as a sign of buildout strain see neoclouds such as CoreWeave as risky.

Alphabet's third-quarter capex of $51.36B came in below the $55.09B estimate, and net income fell to $26.17B. Changes in the valuation of equity holdings are cited as a cause of the decline, so it should be viewed separately from operating weakness. Most comments said "not as bad as expected, a buying opportunity."

Combined annual capex of the four biggest AI spenders is about $730B, fueling debate over a swing to negative FCF. Top comments mostly argue that bubble fears are overblown because "big tech has plenty of cash and capex is optional." Memory beneficiaries depend on prices holding.

The community is in a bearish mood over security incidents, but it received this news positively. It did not translate into a price reaction, and BTC fell 0.97%.

Covers Alphabet's FCF decline, capex shortfall and lower net income.

EPS $4.89 (estimate $4.73), revenue $92.28B, Azure $33.17B (+48%).

A debate over the four biggest AI spenders swinging to negative FCF.

A 10-2 hold, with Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack calling for a hike. On r/investing, there was also distrust of Chair Warsh for holding just before the midterms while saying "inflation is too high."

News of prolonged memory supply shortages and SK hynix's three years of DRAM and HBM sold out continued. Bullish sentiment is converging on $MU and SK hynix.

WSB and r/stocks leaned bearish on Alphabet, yet the regular-session close was $321.89 (+1.60%). The decline came after hours, following the close, so community sentiment effectively priced in the Oct. 29 open. The communications sector XLC fell only 0.42% in the regular session.

The community questioned the sustainability of AI capex, yet SMH rose 1.74% and XLK 0.80% the same day. Concern was reflected in big tech's investment returns, while prices reflected the semiconductor suppliers. The beneficiaries appear to be shifting from those who spend to those who receive.

Bullish discussion of $MU and SK hynix matches the KOSPI's +6.63% and SK hynix's +10.89%. However, the KOSPI's -2.54% intraday on Oct. 29 is a correction at odds with the community's optimism, and it also runs in the opposite direction from EWY's +5.37%.

Two dissents in favor of a hike prompted a bearish reading, but the S&P 500 rose 0.28% and the VIX fell to 16.91 (-3.48%). On the other hand, the 10-year at 5.045% (+5.2bp), XLRE -0.73% and XLU -0.84% show that the hawkish reading was reflected in bonds and rate-sensitive sectors.

The community focused on security incidents with little discussion of price. The bearish tone matches BTC -0.97% and ETH -1.47%.

The video "Why Everyone Stopped Buying GoPro" traces how GoPro went from a market cap of about $12 billion right after its 2014 listing to roughly 98% below its peak today. It lost share to DJI and Insta360, first-quarter 2026 revenue fell 26%, and a June filing explicitly flagged going-concern uncertainty. After news that YouTuber Markiplier had built a stake sent the shares surging, the company agreed to merge with Starman Optical. The video groups this into three themes: a "distressed company's AI pivot," a "defense pivot" and "Western hardware squeezed by Chinese makers." This is a bearish view confined to GoPro as an individual stock.

Covers the assessments of four Gen Z men who voted for Trump in 2024. Their main complaints are the war with Iran, now months old with no end in sight, and immigration policy. There are almost no direct remarks on markets, so this is background information showing political sentiment ahead of the midterms.

Gundlach argues the Fed should raise rates, citing the two-year yield and a steepening yield curve. Neuberger's Jeff Blazek called the Fed announcement "not a particularly eventful one, as expected." Chair Warsh said the economic expansion is strong and inflation is elevated. Rapidan Energy's McNally diagnosed crude being repriced as ceasefire hopes fade, and Citi's Andy Sieg discussed signs of distress in private credit.

Argues for buying chip stocks the market has shunned, under the title "Buy the chipmakers the market stopped believing." There is also a program noting that the Fed chair does not want to offer forward guidance but the committee keeps providing it. A video on Robinhood's crypto revenue rising for the first time in a year was also posted.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev described crypto as a "relative winter," and Coin Bureau diagnoses bitcoin as stuck in an $80,000-$85,000 range. Both views are bearish to neutral.

Korea Economic TV takes a bullish view, saying Samsung Electronics' 107 trillion won profit is only the beginning and the memory market will keep growing through 2030. Money Today Broadcasting cites robotics and semiconductors as the key to a market rebound and analyzes small-caps such as Gaon Cable, Halla Cast and Hansol Technics. 3Pro TV takes a neutral view that presumes a market correction, on the theme that stocks that were strong but went unnoticed in the surge are revealed in a pullback.

Right after the Fed hold, introduces market patterns following midterm elections since 1950. CNBC's midday market coverage also mentioned the possibility of a post-midterm rally.