US stocks end mixed after rate cut

Wall Street received the interest rate cut it wanted, but still turned in a baffling late-day performance, shooting higher and then skidding lower in the very last minutes of trading as some investors rushed to cash in profits after the market’s big advance.

Analysts were divided over why the market turned around so abruptly, with some citing reports of a lacklustre profit forecast at General Electric Co. and others contending investors were simply looking to cash in gains after the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower its fed funds rate by a half-point to 1%.