Dow notches record high as Wall Street cheers Powell's speech

Dow notches record high as Wall Street cheers Powell's speech

By Shashwat Chauhan, Sanchayaita Roy and Carolina Mandl

Fri August 22, 2025 4:34 PM

Really, Jerome Powell didn’t say anything that he hasn’t said before, namely that rate cuts were needed but that they must be data-dependent and the Fed must proceed with caution. But today, the very fact that he didn’t come right out and say no to a September rate cut but instead “hinted” that it was possible sent the markets into a state of elation with a huge rally not seen in recent months, the Dow up a whopping 846 (a new record), the Nasdaq an equally whopping 396. It was enough to boost the odds of a September cut from 75% before the speech to 90% afterwards.  

The market’s reaction to Powell is likely overly optimistic as today’s expert inserted some reality, “Investors are cheering Powell’s comments like it’s the start of a rate-cut parade. But one cut won’t move the needle on consumer spending. The biggest question is whether this marks a true pivot in Fed policy – or if rising tariffs will force it to slam the brakes before that shift even begins.” It seems the market is completely ignoring the second part of Powell’s comment that the Fed “must proceed with caution.” For the first time in a long time, volume was way up to 17.93 billion, even exceeding the 17.08 4-week average. 

DJ: 44,785.50  -152.81       NAS: 21,100.31  -72.54      S&P: 6,370.17  -25.61        8/21

DJ: 45,631.74  +846.24      NAS: 21,496.54  +396.22   S&P: 6,466.91  +96.74       8/22

Fri 8-22-25 4:34 pm Dow notches record high as Wall Street cheers Powell's speech | Reuters