Fed holds rates steady as Microsoft and Meta AI capex moves into focus

The Federal Reserve held rates steady, and the afternoon's attention landed immediately on Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META). The question now in focus: what each company will disclose about artificial intelligence capital expenditure. The Investing Club's Homestretch, an actionable afternoon note published each weekday ahead of the final hour of trading, placed both names at the top of its session watch list.

The rate hold and what it clears

A Fed decision to leave rates unchanged removes the central bank as a variable for the session. It does not answer the larger question the market is carrying. What replaces it is forward-spending signals from two of the tape's most closely followed technology companies. AI capital expenditure, the money each company commits to building and expanding AI infrastructure, is the print investors are waiting on from Microsoft and Meta.

The Homestretch flagged both names as the key items following the Fed announcement. That is the Investing Club's daily read: one tight, actionable update timed to the close.

The setup going into the close

No capex numbers from Microsoft or Meta are on the tape yet. The session carries the question without an answer. The Fed's decision is known. What Microsoft and Meta say about AI spending is not.

Commentary from either company on capital expenditure is the next confirmable milestone. Until that lands, the afternoon trade sits with what the Homestretch put in focus: how much are these two companies committing to artificial intelligence, and which direction does that number run.