Fed Holds 10–2; Vertiv +15%, Flex +9% Lead AI Suppliers
Fed — rates on hold, two officials wanted a hike; Vertiv +15%, Flex +9%, Micron +4%
The Fed held its target range at 3.75–4.00% in a 10–2 vote: Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack wanted a quarter-point hike, and the statement says the economy is "expanding at a strong pace" while inflation "remains elevated". Stocks barely moved — the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, the 10-year yield sits at 5.01%, the VIX at 17.2. Underneath, the AI supply chain is rewarded again: Vertiv +14.8% on a beat and a raised outlook, Flex +9.4%, Celestica another 8.7% on day two, Micron +4.2% after SK hynix said its memory is sold out through 2029. Beats outside AI are sold — Old Dominion −7.5%, Garmin −4.7%. Microsoft, Alphabet and ServiceNow report after the close, so tonight's close is the price their reports will be measured from.
In this edition
The Midday 10 Wed, Oct 28, 2026 ~60 seconds 14:40 ET
The Fed holds with two votes for a hike and the indices barely react, while the AI supply chain is rewarded again — Vertiv +14.8%, Flex +9.4%, Celestica +8.7% on day two, Micron +4.2% — and solid beats outside AI, from Old Dominion to Garmin, are sold.
US session after the 14:00 ET Fed statement, intraday quotes ~14:15 ET (delayed)
The ten lines
- 1
UP Vertiv
VRT
Vertiv, which builds the power and cooling equipment that keeps AI data centers running, jumps 14.8% to 239.44 after a third-quarter beat and a raised outlook: adjusted earnings of $2.21 a share against $1.82 expected, revenue of $4.31 billion against $3.75 billion. The jump recovers part of a long way down — before the report the stock sat about 45% below its six-month high of 376 — and it still trades under its 50-day average near 244.
- 2
UP Flex and Celestica
Flex, the contract manufacturer that builds data-center hardware for the cloud giants, gains 9.4% to 91.19: fiscal second-quarter revenue of $8.49 billion was up 25% from a year earlier, adjusted earnings of $1.18 a share beat the $1.06 consensus, and the company raised its full-year outlook on AI demand. Celestica, a rival in AI server racks, adds another 8.7% to 300.57 on day two after its report — 21.9% above Monday's pre-report close of 246.65, with our three-session reaction test closing Thursday.
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- 3
UP Memory — Micron and Sandisk
MUSNDK
Micron gains 4.2% to 967.43 and Sandisk 5.4% to 1,375.50 after SK hynix, which reported record results overnight, said its DRAM and HBM output is effectively sold out through 2029 and that it expects supply to trail demand through 2030. Micron now trades within 1.3% of its 50-day average at 979.71, though still about 20% below its six-month high of 1,213.56.
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Ten lines on the US midday tape, not advice — an investment diary. Published every trading day at 12:30 ET. See The Morning 10 and the Daily Pulse.