New York CNN —Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Tuesday cleared the way for larger interest rate hikes at this month’s central bank policy meeting, sending markets into a tailspin.
The S&P 500 fell 1.5%, the Dow dropped 575 points, or 1.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite ended 1.3% lower.
After Powell’s testimony, market expectations for a half-percentage point rate hike spiked.
If inflation fails to continue falling, he said, the Fed will keep trying to cool things down by raising rates.
Even if Powell was sure that January’s economic data was a fluke, he still wants to maintain the Fed’s credibility.