U.S. stock indexes remained stuck in place as Wall Street made few big moves ahead of what’s expected to be the first cut to interest rates in more than four years.

Over the past couple of years, the US economy has wrung out inflation like dirty mop water from just about every sector — except for the housing market, which remains paralyzed by high prices and chronically low supply.

U.S. stocks rose after the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5%. That was the first rate cut in over four years that marked the beginning of a monetary-easing cycle in the world's largest economy.