Last night, Powell's 50 billion reverse repurchase operation appeared to be a routine move on the surface, but in fact it was a form of "hidden easing." Based on liquidity transmission effects, this is roughly equivalent to a 3 basis point cut in interest rates. Coupled with the officially announced 25 basis point rate cut, the market's actual perception of monetary easing is close to 28 basis points.

But the focus is not on these 28 basis points themselves. What truly matters is—the timing, location, and implications of this move within the current market sentiment environment, which are far from being as simple as the literal words suggest.

The real target of this 50 billion is not to stimulate economic growth, nor to give away benefits to risk assets. Its aim is the Treasury market.

The current situation on the table is this: the stock market is blazing hot, with funds rushing into high-risk assets; meanwhile, the Treasury market is cold as winter, with yields soaring to ridiculous levels, and new bond issuance nearly ignored; the fiscal side is under immense pressure from interest expenses, making the Ministry of Finance gasp for breath; banks and pension funds holding long-duration bonds are still struggling with unrealized losses on their books; and the Treasury system, which underpins the dollar's creditworthiness, is at a dangerous critical point.

Therefore, last night's operation is actually a combination strategy: publicly, to keep interest rates at 25 basis points to stabilize expectations; secretly, to inject 3 basis points of liquidity through reverse repos—ensuring the system remains connected. Maintaining a hawkish stance verbally is to cool down an overheated stock market; but the real goal is to force funds out of equities and redirect them back into the Treasury market.

Because an overheated stock market won't shake the foundation, but a collapse of the Treasury market would be fatal.

When stocks fall, retail and institutional investors' accounts suffer; but if the Treasury market issues problems, it threatens the entire US financial structure—fiscal financing capacity, bank balance sheets, insurance allocations, pension payments, and the dollar's reserve currency status—all will weaken accordingly.

So, that 50 billion is not traditional "money printing," but an emergency blood transfusion for the Treasury market. The message it sends is clear: the Fed can tolerate cooling the stock market, but it will never sit idly by as the Treasury market continues to bleed.

In simple terms: suppressing stocks is a means, saving the Treasury is the goal, and maintaining the dollar's credit system is the ultimate objective.