The Fed expects to cut rates just once this year
4:03 p.m. ET, June 12, 2024
Stocks close mixed Wednesday after cool inflation data, Fed meeting
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is framed by a trader’s screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, on Wednesday, June 12.
Richard Drew/AP
Stocks ended the day mixed Wednesday as investors parsed a key inflation report and the Federal Reserve’s latest projections for interest rate cuts this year.
The Dow fell 35 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 gained 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5%, reaching record-high closes for the third consecutive day.
Investors cheered the May Consumer Price Index report, which showed that inflation cooled at a slower pace than expected last month. Consumer prices rose 3.3% from the prior year, a slower clip than April’s 3.4% rate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On a monthly basis, prices were unchanged, slowing from April’s 0.3% gain.
The Fed on Wednesday afternoon held rates steady as expected, but signaled that it now expects to cut rates just once in 2024 rather than the three times it had previously forecast.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated at the post-meeting press conference that the central bank will not cut rates until it sees more data showing that inflation is cooling.
As stocks settle after the trading day, levels might change slightly.
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