The Federal Reserve just cut interest rates for the first time since March of 2020, fueling volatility in global markets.
The move marks the central bank’s shift from fighting inflation to responding to signs of economic slowdown, weakness in the jobs market and other risks to growth.
The move triggered major swings for the Dow Jones and S&P 500, with the Dow rising about 400 points and now up 100 points at time of publishing.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 29 points at time of publishing, with the Nasdaq up 153 points.
Bitcoin has jumped from a 24-hour low of $59,212 to as high as $61,135. BTC is at $60,849 at time of publishing, up 0.6% in the last day.
In a press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell says he believes they’ve won the battle against inflation.
“Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends. Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%…
This recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market, and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as we begin the process of moving toward a more neutral stance. We are not on any preset course. We will continue to make our decisions meeting by meeting.”
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