On February 12, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said on Tuesday that given the overall strength of the economy, the solid labor market, and inflation still above the 2% target, the Federal Reserve does not need to rush to adjust interest rates, hinting that officials will remain patient on the issue of rate cuts.
According to 4E monitoring, after Powell's speech, the three major U.S. stock indexes briefly touched intraday lows, and their performance at the close was mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.03%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.36%. Most large-cap tech stocks fell, with Tesla plunging 6.34%, the biggest single-day drop since December 18, while Nvidia ended a five-day winning streak.
The cryptocurrency market followed the tech stocks lower, with Bitcoin experiencing significant volatility in the evening, briefly falling below $95,000, and was quoted at $95,962 at the time of writing, down 1.92% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum performed more weakly, with the price falling nearly 3% to the current $2,603, and most Altcoins also experienced significant declines. The overall market sentiment is bearish, and investors are clearly concerned about the uncertainty of macroeconomic policies.
In the foreign exchange and commodity markets, the U.S. dollar index fell 0.35%, ending a three-day winning streak, while the British pound, euro, and Australian and New Zealand currencies performed well; geopolitical tensions continued, oil prices rose for the third consecutive day, with Brent crude closing up nearly 1.5%; after setting new all-time highs for three consecutive days, investors began to take profits, and spot gold fell 0.32% at the close, breaking below $2,900.
The market generally believes that Powell's speech summarized the Federal Reserve's path in 2025: if there is no progress in lowering inflation, it will keep interest rates unchanged; if the economic slowdown is more severe, it will cut interest rates. Data shows that most economists expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again next quarter, rather than the previously widely expected March. The market will receive the latest inflation data in the next two days, namely the U.S. January CPI on Wednesday and the PPI inflation data on Thursday.
4E, as a financial trading platform that supports cryptocurrencies, stock indexes, bulk gold, foreign exchange and other assets, has recently launched a USDT stablecoin wealth management product with an annualized yield of 5.5%, providing investors with a potential hedging option. 4E reminds you to pay attention to market volatility risks and allocate assets reasonably.
