What will Fed Chair Powell say? Major institutions are speculating

As Powell prepares for another press conference, Wall Street players are already doing their homework. What signals might this Federal Reserve boss send this time? Can the market continue to bet on consecutive rate cuts? Predictions from several major banks are quite consistent—don't overthink it.

Analysts at US Bank believe Powell probably won't take a strongly "hawkish" stance this time; he'll likely stick to his usual themes of actual interest rates and data-driven decisions. Dansk Bank is more straightforward, expecting Powell to continue the attitude from October and bluntly dismiss expectations of ongoing rate cuts—don't count on the Fed cutting rates indefinitely.

Deutsche Bank looks further ahead, suggesting Powell will emphasize that it will be challenging to keep cutting rates into early 2026, implying that the easing might pause this year or in the first half of next year. Morgan Stanley's logic is that this round of policy adjustments has already concluded; any future moves will require multiple meetings and depend on upcoming data.

Former Fed Vice Chair Brinded also chimes in, believing Powell might, like last time, remind the market not to be overly clever in expecting the Fed to maintain an easy stance indefinitely. In summary, if one phrase were to capture the current stance: the Fed has already hit the brakes on rate cuts, and future moves depend on economic data.