Fed Rate Cuts Could Avert Recession, Say 75% In Benzinga Poll: Majority See Market Dip As Temporary

The Federal Reserve can avoid a recession by cutting interest rates in the wake of an unnerving market drop that is most likely short-lived, according to a new Benzinga poll.

A survey on the Fed possibly cutting rates showed that 75% of adults believe that lower rates would deter an economic downturn, while another poll revealed that 68% of people are confident that Monday’s plummet across global markets reflects a temporary slide.

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA, lost 2.6%, the S&P 500, which is followed by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, shed 3%. The losses marked both indexes’ biggest drops since September 2022.

The Nasdaq-100 Index, which is tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ, dipped 3.4% during Monday’s session.

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Monday’s drop occurred after the Fed announced it was keeping rates unchanged on July 31 and a U.S. jobs report revealed on Friday that unemployment had risen 0.2% to 4.3% in July.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan raised its interest rates from 1% to 2.5% on July 31, prompting the Nikkei 225 to drop 12.4% drop to 31,422 on Monday and a frenzied investor retreat from the Japanese yen carry trade.

Markets have since stabilized, as the Dow has lost 0.08%, or 34 points, since Monday’s closing bell to close at 38,764 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 closed at 5,200 on Wednesday, up a dozen points from Monday’s close.

The Nasdaq-100 has shed a few points since the end of trading on Monday to land at 17,867 on Wednesday.

The Nikkei 225 has rebounded 10% since Monday to reach 35,090 by Wednesday’s close in Tokyo.

The polls were conducted by Benzinga on Aug. 6 and Aug. 7 and included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older. Opting into the surveys was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The survey on the market retreat reflects results from 157 adults, while the other one on Fed cutting rates is based on the opinions of 128 adults.

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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.