Investors will be closely watching Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s press conference after next week’s rate-setting meeting. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) officials are widely expected to hold interest rates steady on June 12, as inflation has stuck well above its 2% target and consumers are proving largely resilient to higher borrowing costs. But with just a few key words at his press conference next week, Powell could still give investors hope that rate cuts are on the way sometime this year, sparking a stock market rally. At least that’s the opinion of Ed Yardeni, the veteran Wall Street strategist and former Fed economist who now runs Yardeni Research.
Yardeni currently sees a 20% chance of a “melt-up” for the stock market, but if Powell “sings a dovish tune” at his press conference next week, he promises to raise those odds.
