Powell speech affirms Fed's data-dependency: Strategists

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium in Wyoming on Friday morning, giving more insight into how the central bank will deploy its monetary policies and cut interest rates moving forward. Powell reiterated commentary from previous speeches about the Fed remaining data-dependent.

Homrich Berg chief investment officer Stephanie Lang and Interactive Brokers chief strategist Steve Sosnick join Catalysts to discuss Powell's remarks and interpret what the market may be taking away from the speech.

Sosnick weighs in on what Powell's comments mean for the size of interest rate cuts down the line: "The odds have seemed to have gone up a little bit. Maybe [a] 30% chance of a 50-basis-point cut... He ratified what the market's thinking... There's not a lot of big surprises either way in here. And it does tell us that we better be watching the data that comes down the pipe in the next couple of weeks."

Lang follows that up with: "I think the Fed wants to be measured going forward. I think if there is a 50-basis-point cut, it's really a reaction to a poor jobs number or some other economic data that really concerns the Fed and causes them to move further than, currently priced in. I think as far as where we are with the data, I think the expectations are that we are seeing a little uptick in the unemployment rate, but the expectation from here is I think we can see some stabilization."

For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts.

This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

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