Bob The Trader

Intel's Board Stares Down Critics, Declares Quarterly Dividend Payout

I consider myself a noob in understanding market dynamics, so someone more knowledgeable please enlighten me. This has bothered me for years but I come to realize that the movement of a stock or index up or down is ultimately determined by the market expectations, not fundamentals, but simply expectations. For example, when the market expects a 1/2 point cut by Feds and instead gets 1/4 point cut, the market goes down. So how does the market consensus of a 1/2 point cut come to in the first place? Is there collusion among the analysts and pundits that we aren't aware of? Because I see many analysts disagree with each other all the time, how does a market consensus form in the first place? Like today, Bush announces a stimulus plan and the market goes down because the market expected more. Who/what the hell is this market consensus?