4E: The Federal Reserve keeps interest rates unchanged, slows down balance sheet reduction to release liquidity, and the US stock and crypto markets collectively rise
On March 20, the Federal Reserve decided to maintain the policy interest rate unchanged, in line with market expectations. At the same time, it announced a significant slowdown in the pace of balance sheet reduction (QT) to ease market liquidity pressures. Powell reassured investors that the risk of recession is not high, the US economy remains strong, and the job market remains solid.
According to 4E monitoring, the Federal Reserve's dovish stance boosted risk assets. The three major U.S. stock indexes rose on Wednesday, with the S & P 500 up 1.08%, the Dow up 0.92%, and the Nasdaq up 1.41%. Technology stocks led the way, with Tesla up 4.68% and Nvidia up 1.81%.
The crypto market rallied sharply, with bitcoin rising to $87,453, led by technology stocks. It fell slightly before the deadline. It is now at $85,866, up 3.6% in 24 hours. Other mainstream tokens rallied collectively, with Ethereum back above $2,000, and XRP surging more than 11% as the SEC dropped its appeal against Ripple.
At the press conference, Powell acknowledged that Trump's economic policies have created a high degree of uncertainty for the U.S. economy, but reiterated that the Federal Reserve is in no hurry to adjust monetary policy. The updated dot plot shows that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice this year, in line with the forecast in December last year. At the same time, the Federal Reserve lowered the economic growth rate in the latest economic forecast, while raising the inflation expectation, showing the characteristics of "stagflation".