Stocks Drop as Powell Warns of Further Fed Rate Hikes
The stock market fell significantly on Wednesday. This came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned that inflation was still too high. He suggested that the Fed will be raising rates again shortly.
Stocks Drop After Powell’s Remarks
The Dow Jones Industrial Average’s closing price was 32,147.76. This is a drop of 505.44 points or 1.55%.The S&P 500 lost 2.5 points on the day and finished at 3,759.69. The Nasdaq Composite fell 10.524.80 points to close the day at 10,524.80.
Contrary to expectations, the central bank is unlikely to change its approach of raising interest rates gradually. However, Jerome Powell, the head of the Federal Reserve, has said some remarkable things.
This happened when the Federal Reserve implemented its fourth consecutive significant rate increase. As a result, people are now experiencing one of the most extreme periods of monetary policy tightening.
Since the early 1980s, when Paul Volcker was in office, this has been similar to what people have seen.In his opinion, Powell said it is too soon to debate the prospect of pausing their rate hikes. However, he continued by saying that there was still work.
The Federal Reserve increased the federal funds rate’s target range by 75 basis points. This increases the capacity to between 3.75% and 4%.
It hasn’t been this high since 2008. As a result, additional short-term rate changes would also be necessary, according to the Fed. The adjustments will respond to the highest inflation rate in more than four decades. Yet, the Federal Reserve claims that no one disagreed with their decision.
Investors’ Reactions to Rising Rates
Regarding the subject, Charlie Ripley has some suggestions to make. For Allianz Investment Management, Ripley serves as the senior investment strategist. According to him, Powell and the committee are attempting to strike a balance between the optionality of more tightening and the work already completed.
He said that is consistent with some uncertainty in the future course of inflation. He said this didn’t alter their desire to institute policies severe enough to halt the economy.
Although, according to Ripley, it seems acceptable to slow down the tightening process at this point. He said forthcoming data over the following several months would decide how to achieve higher policy rates. The committee noted a particular thing. It said that future interest rate choices would include the “cumulative” impact that increased rates had had on the entire domestic economy.
At this stage of the trekking cycle, Ripley offered a few of his observations. First, he said it seems like the Fed is heading more and more toward an observational function. This occurs as they evaluate the results of the just concluded policy tightening.
Chris Zaccarelli has offered some remarks on the subject. Chief Investment Officer at Independent Advisor Alliance is Zaccarelli. According to Zaccarelli, the Fed is worried that its rate increases are needlessly damaging the economy.
He continued by saying that the Fed is dealing with louder critics who would instead let inflation play out naturally than provide the harsh treatment needed to stop it.