Last month, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell affirmed at his annual policy speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that the central bank would continue to hike the benchmark interest rates to lower record-high inflation, which might cause “some pain” to the economy. Moreover, with the economic contraction for two consecutive quarters of this year, the odds of a recession are high.
However, investors’ sentiment has improved lately with the belief that inflation has already peaked. The market gained last week by snapping a three-week losing streak as investors remained focused on the predictions of interest rate hikes and inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August reflected an 8.3% rise year-over-year and a 0.1% increase month-over-month.
