NEW YORK, United States — US stocks mostly fell while the dollar rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and avoided suggesting it would soon cut interest
US stocks mostly fell while the dollar rallied Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and avoided suggesting it would soon cut interest rates.
The Fed, as expected, held interest rates steady, despite relentless pressure from President Donald Trump for an interest rate cut.
In a press conference, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized future monetary policy decisions would depend on economic data, while refraining from sending any signs that a dovish pivot should be anticipated quickly.
Futures markets lowered their odds for a September interest rate cut following the press conference and statement, which included no major tweaks that would have implied an imminent interest rate cut.
“Powell sounded more hawkish than what markets were hoping for,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones. “It was not a huge surprise, but at the same time, markets have rallied quite a bit partly on expectations of lower interest rates and a Fed cut in September.”
Earlier, the Paris and Frankfurt indexes gained after the eurozone economy unexpectedly expanded in the second quarter, which preceded a weekend tariffs deal between the US and the EU that had also bolstered sentiment.
