Wall Street traders breathed a sigh of relief, with Jerome Powell once again signaling that while a strong economy will keep officials on hold for now, he expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates this year.
Stocks and bonds rose as investors took his remarks as a “no news is good news” development. The Fed chief also said he’s not looking for inflation to reach the central bank’s 2 per cent target to start easing policy.
To Michael Feroli at JPMorgan Chase & Co., Powell was pretty careful to avoid sending new signals on the direction of monetary policy — “which makes sense” considering the full set of inflation and employment data ahead of the next Fed meeting.
“The market didn’t appear to be fazed by Powell continuing to play his cards close to his vest,” said Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.
The S&P 500 reclaimed its 5,100 mark, with tech shares leading gains. New York Community Bancorp…
