4E: Powell denies that the Federal Reserve will bail out the market, U.S. stocks plummet, and the crypto market performs independently
ChainCatcher news, according to 4E monitoring, Powell's latest speech warned that the increase in tariffs far exceeds expectations, which may face a dilemma of inflation and economic challenges, suggesting that the Federal Reserve will prioritize controlling inflation and reiterating a wait-and-see stance, denying that it will cut interest rates to rescue the market during a significant market decline. As a result of this hawkish rhetoric, the three major U.S. stock indexes fell sharply, with the Nasdaq plummeting 3.07%, the S&P 500 dropping 2.24%, and the Dow Jones down 1.73%. The seven tech giants all declined, with Nvidia falling nearly 6.9% and Tesla down nearly 5%.The cryptocurrency market performed relatively independently amid the sharp decline in U.S. stocks. Bitcoin briefly dropped sharply after Powell's speech but quickly regained above $84,000, currently reported at $84,227, up 0.8% in 24 hours. Most altcoins rose, but market sentiment remained cautious, with investors wary of potential impacts from the spread of overall economic risks.The foreign exchange and commodity markets experienced increased volatility, with the dollar index widening its decline after Powell's speech, dropping slightly over 1% for the day; the U.S. announced new sanctions targeting Iranian oil exports, causing crude oil to rebound nearly 2% to a nearly two-week high; gold prices maintained an upward trend throughout the day on Wednesday, with spot gold rising nearly 3.5%, setting a new historical record.During the sharp decline in U.S. stocks, Trump repeatedly called for interest rate cuts, and market expectations for an emergency rate cut by the Federal Reserve increased, but Powell's latest speech doused those hopes. The CME FedWatch tool shows that the probability of the Federal Reserve maintaining interest rates in May has risen to 83.2%.
