Investors will be looking for clues about the Federal Reserve's next moves in its fight against inflation when Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks Wednesday afternoon.
What To Know: Powell is set to give a speech on the economic outlook, inflation and the labor market at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
The Fed Chair is expected to provide further insight into the central bank’s current thinking on future rate hikes.
Why It Matters: The Fed's final meeting of the year is slated for mid-December. Most expect the central bank to opt for a smaller 0.5% rate increase, following an aggressive series of four consecutive 0.75% rate hikes.
On Tuesday, Wharton Professor of Finance Jeremy Siegel laid out expectations for the Fed's upcoming meeting on Dec. 14.
"I do expect the 50 basis points ... I really hope that they really just pause after that," Siegel said.
The Wharton Professor anticipates that improving price data will steer the Fed away from its 0.75% rate hike course in December.
"I think they're going to pivot once they see the weakness in the data come through," he said.
Any sign of a pivot from Powell on future rate adjustments could push the SPDR S&P 500 SPY significantly higher.
SPY Price Action: The SPY was up 0.02% at $395.30 ahead of Powell's speech, according to Benzinga Pro.
Photo: courtesy of the Federal Reserve.
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