
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's mid-morning speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium lit a fire under stocks Friday. Indeed, the main indexes hit their session highs shortly after the Fed chief wrapped up his dovish address. And while equities pulled back a bit as the session wore on, they still finished the day and week with notable gains.
"The time has come for policy to adjust," Powell said this morning at the Kansas City Fed's annual central bank event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "The direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks."