Nasdaq leads stock climb as Powell says ‘time has come’ to begin cutting interest rates

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Stocks climbed on Friday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the “time has come” to begin cutting interest rates, offering the clearest signal yet that the central bank is prepared to begin an easing cycle, with major implications for the economy.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.6%, or over 200 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led gains, up roughly 0.8%, as all three gauges eyed a strong comeback from Thursday’s closing losses.

Spirits turned buoyant as a day of reckoning for rate-cut bets finally arrived, after a week of mounting anticipation for what Powell would reveal during a speech Friday morning at Jackson Hole.

Speaking at the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic symposium, Powell said: “The time has come for policy to adjust.”

“The direction of travel is clear,” Powell added, “and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.”

Slowing economic data has convinced the market to position for the Fed to lower rates in September, with opinion divided on the depth of the cut. Traders are pricing in around a 70% chance of a reduction of 25 basis points and 30% odds of 50 basis points, per CME’s FedWatch tool.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) was down to around 3.8% in the wake of Powell’s comments, near its lows of the year.

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