Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell gave no indication the central bank has reached the end of interest rate hikes in Friday's speech, but market participants reacted as if he did. Indeed, the main indexes were mostly lower to start the day, but swung higher after Powell took the mic.
Speaking at Spelman College in Atlanta, the head of the central bank said it is "premature" to say with certainty that the Fed has "achieved a sufficiently restrictive stance" or to speculate on rate cuts. Powell added that while recent lower inflation readings – including October's Consumer Price Index (CPI) – "are welcome," the Fed's ultimate goal is to reach the 2% target.
