All eyes are on the Federal Reserve this week as the central bank is set to kick off its interest rate easing cycle on Wednesday, September 18. Piper Sandler chief investment strategist Michael Kantrowitz joins Market Domination to discuss the Fed's rate cut path ahead of its September FOMC meeting.
While Wall Street is divided between a 25 and 50-basis-point cut, Kantrowitz believes 25 is more likely despite wanting to see a 50-point cut.
"I think he [Fed Chair Powell] wants to avoid maybe doing 50 unless it's really necessary to set the expectation they're going to be cutting rates that quickly. But on the flip side, I think they should do 50, and I guess we'll see how confident Powell really is," he explains.
Overall, Kantrowitz believes that the size of the cut won't make a "big difference" for markets. Instead, the focus will likely be on the rate-cut path ahead. He notes that September is expected to see unemployment tick higher as the labor market slows. Overall, Kantrowitz believes it is "possible" that the market will see the 100 basis points worth of cuts it has currently priced in.
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This post was written by Melanie Riehl