The Federal Open Market Committee cut interest rates a quarter-point as expected.
But, the key paragraph about further cuts has been reworded and now reads as follows:
"In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its maximum employment objective and its symmetric 2 percent inflation objective. This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments."
The removal of the "will act as appropriate" phrase is viewed by some as hawkish, but it is likely that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will reiterate that the Fed remains "data dependent."
There is no great surprise here, and the market reaction is fairly mild so far. There will be more reaction to Powell when he holds the standard press conference in a few minutes.
Overall, the door is still open for another cut this year, and that is enough to satisfy for the market for now.
The market won't have much time to digest the interest rate news, as the focus is going to quickly shift to earnings from Apple (AAPL) . Apple has had a decent two-day pullback after a strong run, so that changes the dynamics, but it is still an extended chart and many traders will be looking for a sell the news reaction.
