{"id":21095,"date":"2025-09-15T18:52:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/09\/15\/fomc-looms\/"},"modified":"2025-09-15T18:52:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:52:00","slug":"fomc-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2025\/09\/15\/fomc-looms\/","title":{"rendered":"FOMC Looms:"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"layout__region nsdq-l-grid__item syndicated-article-body\">\n<section class=\"jupiter22-c-article-body\">\n<div class=\"body\">\n<div class=\"body__content\">\n<h2><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>Wall Street Braces for Wednesday\u2019s FOMC Meeting<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Wall Street investors are currently bracing for one of the most highly anticipated, yet uncertain, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings\/decisions in a very long time. Several story lines make this FOMC meeting in particular interesting. First, President Trump and his administration have aggressively pressured Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates for months. Meanwhile, several cross-currents exist in this unique economy, including slightly elevated inflation (CPI is ~1% above the Fed\u2019s target) and healthy GDP (Q2 GDP showed a 3.3% annual growth). Below are five things to know before Wednesday\u2019s FOMC meeting:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><strong>Will the Fed Cut by 25-bps or 50-bps?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">The Fed\u2019s \u2018mandate\u2019, set by the US Congress, is to achieve maximum employment and stable prices with a long-term goal of 2% inflation. Though the Fed has failed to attain its inflation goal, two recent events likely solidify an interest rate cut on Wednesday.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag--To\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-1\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag--To')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag--To');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin-left:1.0in;\"><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Jerome Powell recently communicated that the Fed is open to a \u201cmore flexible, inflation-targeting framework.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left:1.0in;\"><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">\u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just released one of the largest negative job revisions in history, with job growth 911,000 below what was initially thought for the year through March 2025. This signals a weaker economy and lends credence to President Trump\u2019s call for lower interest rates.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left:.5in;\"><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Though many Wall Street investors are contemplating whether the Fed will cut rates by .50-bps or 25-bps, a 25-basis point cut is the most likely outcome by far. For instance, the \u2018CME FedWatch Tool\u2019 has the odds of a 25-bps cut at 96%. Similarly, betting website PolyMarket has the odds of a 25-bps interest rate cut at a near-certain 90%.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Zacks Investment Research\" src=\"https:\/\/staticx-tuner.zacks.com\/images\/articles\/charts\/13\/123366.jpg?v=971517772\"><br \/><span style=\"width:100%; display: inline-block; font-size: 8pt;\">Image Source: PolyMarket<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><strong>FOMC: Expect Volatility<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Investors should be prepared for wild price swings into the end of the week. Historically, FOMC meetings are far more volatile than average trading days, swinging ~1% on average. In addition to the FOMC decision, investors will need to contend with monthly options expiration (OPEX) this Friday. OPEX often leads to funky price action and increased volatility as market makers rush to hedge their market risk.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag-4wc\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-2\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag-4wc')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-4wc');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><strong>Pre-Fed Price Action & September Seasonality<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">FOMC days are notorious for marking key turning points in equity markets. Heading into Wednesday\u2019s FOMC, bulls have been in complete control of the market, with the <strong>Nasdaq 100 Index (QQQ)<\/strong> recording ten consecutive daily gains. Will Wall Street use the event as an excuse to \u2018sell the news?\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Zacks Investment Research\" src=\"https:\/\/staticx-tuner.zacks.com\/images\/articles\/charts\/43\/123367.jpg?v=200268792\"><br \/><span style=\"width:100%; display: inline-block; font-size: 8pt;\">Image Source: TradingView<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Meanwhile, historical seasonality data suggests that late September is one of the seasonally weakest times to be long stocks. While September still typically finishes green roughly half of the time, Q3 pullbacks are common and can set the stage for the year-end \u2018Santa Claus Rally.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Zacks Investment Research\" src=\"https:\/\/staticx-tuner.zacks.com\/images\/articles\/charts\/70\/123368.jpg?v=519653870\"><br \/><span style=\"width:100%; display: inline-block; font-size: 8pt;\">Image Source: StockTradersAlmanac.com<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><strong>Interest Rate Cuts Near New Market Highs are Bullish<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">While the last bullet point was focused on potential short-term movements, the long-term market picture becomes clearer when you extend your time frame. The Fed poised to cut interest rate cuts as the market approaches a new high. Historically, rate cuts near all-time highs are rare but extremely powerful. <strong>The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates 12 times when the S&P 500 Index was within 1% of its all-time high. The market was higher one year later all 12 times, with a median return of 15%, according to JP Morgan.<\/strong> The 1996 market environment is a potential precedent for the current market. Back then, the rate cut led to a 22% advance over the next year and set the table for the internet boom. Is the Fed about to throw kerosene on the fire that is the AI revolution? Should the market rally from here, AI names like <strong>CoreWeave (<\/strong><\/span><\/span>CRWV<\/acronym><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>), Nebius Group (<\/strong><\/span><\/span>NBIS<\/acronym><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>), Oracle (<\/strong><\/span><\/span>ORCL<\/acronym><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>), Nvidia (<\/strong><\/span><\/span>NVDA<\/acronym><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>), and Microsoft (<\/strong><\/span><\/span>MSFT<\/acronym><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>) <\/strong>are likely to lead.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag-Ams\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-3\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag-Ams')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-Ams');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><strong>Market Sentiment & Momentum<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Despite the hefty market gains in 2025, many investors remain fearful, according to one sentiment survey. The latest AAII Sentiment Survey suggests that more investors are bearish than bullish \u2013 a potential bullish contrarian signal.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Zacks Investment Research\" src=\"https:\/\/staticx-tuner.zacks.com\/images\/articles\/charts\/ae\/123369.jpg?v=1326633049\"><br \/><span style=\"width:100%; display: inline-block; font-size: 8pt;\">Image Source: AAII<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">Nevertheless, market momentum statistics suggest that the party may just be getting started. <strong>Since 1975, there have been only six times when the S&P 500 rose 30% or more in five months. 2025 is one of those times. In 100% of these historical cases, the S&P 500 has ended higher in the following six and twelve months, per Carson Research. <\/strong>In fact, during such occurrences, the S&P 500 had better-than-normal performance, rallying by an average of 18.1% in the following twelve months.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\"><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:16px;\"><span style=\"font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">No matter the outcome of Wednesday\u2019s meeting, all signs point to one of the most pivotal FOMC decisions in recent memory. While a 25-bps cut appears baked in, the potential for market volatility is elevated.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h2> \tOne Big Gain, Every Trading Day<\/h2>\n<p> \tTo help you take full advantage of this market, you\u2019re invited to access every stock recommendation in all our private portfolios - for just $1.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ads__inline\">\n<div id=\"js-dfp-tag-NxY\"  class=\"btf-bodymidpagetwothirdswidth-4\">          <script type=\"text\/javascript\">         googletag.cmd.push(function() {             \/\/ Check if ID matches ID in the window.adsList array before calling googletag.display             function isAdInAdsList(id) {             for (var i = 0; i < window.adsList.length; i++) {                 if (window.adsList[i].id === id) {                     return true;                 }             }             return false;         }         if (isAdInAdsList('js-dfp-tag-NxY')) {             googletag.display('js-dfp-tag-NxY');         }         });     <\/script> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \tZacks private portfolio services that closed 256 double and triple-digit winners in 2024 alone. That\u2019s about one big gain every day the market was open. Of course, not all our picks are winners, but members have seen recent gains as high as <strong>+627% +1,340%<\/strong>, and <strong>+1,708%.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p> \tImagine how much you could profit with a steady stream of real-time picks from all our services that cover a number of strategies to suit a variety of investing and trading styles.<\/p>\n<p>See Stocks Now >><\/p>\n<p>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/p>\n<p>NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/p>\n<p>Oracle Corporation (ORCL) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/p>\n<p>Nebius Group N.V. (NBIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/p>\n<p>CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) : Free Stock Analysis Report<\/p>\n<p>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).<\/p>\n<p>Zacks Investment Research<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"body__disclaimer\">The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>        <script type=\"text\/javascript\">   \/\/ add oddAd class to every odd instance of body .ads__inline for different placeholder styles   let articleAds = document.querySelectorAll('.ads__inline');   for (let i = 0, len = articleAds.length; i < len; i++) {     \/\/ Do the below only if the curent count is less than 12     if ((i < 12) &#038;&#038; (i % 2 === 0)) {       articleAds[i].className += ' oddAd';     }   } <\/script>                                               <\/p>\n<div class=\"jupiter22-c-tags jupiter22-c-tags-default\">\n<h3 class=\"jupiter22-c-tags-title\">         Tags       <\/h3>\n<div class=\"jupiter22-c-tags-container\">InvestingHow to InvestStocks<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wall Street Braces for Wednesday\u2019s FOMC Meeting Wall Street investors are currently bracing for one of the most highly anticipated, yet uncertain, Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings\/decisions in a very long time. Several story lines make this FOMC meeting in particular interesting. First, President Trump and his administration have aggressively pressured Federal Reserve Chairman [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stock","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21095"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21095\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}