The Fed's cutting cycle in 1995 sparked an economic boom, with the stock market more than doubling in value by the end of the decade.

The decision by the Fed's policy-setting committee to cut interest rates for the first time since March 2020 was prefaced by an unusual amount of market uncertainty as to how much the central bank would lower its benchmark rate from a two-decade high of 5.25% to 5.5%, where it has stood since July 2023.