Futures Dip as Powell Speech in Focus for Tariff, Inflation Comments

• Wall Street's main indexes were mixed on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, while investors parsed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's latest comments.
• The U.S. Central Bank is in no rush to cut its short-term interest rate again given the economy is "strong overall", with low unemployment and inflation still above the Fed's 2% target, Powell said in opening remarks at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.
• Investors are also on the lookout for any new tariff comments from U.S. President Donald Trump, a day after he substantially raised levies on imports of steel and aluminium and said there would be announcements over the next two days about reciprocal tariffs on all countries that impose duties on U.S. goods.
• "Valuations are elevated, company guidance is measured, inflation is persistent, government policy is uncertain, tariff talk is ongoing and global tensions are elevated. So, in aggregate, the level of uncertainty is high, which implies increased volatility," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management.
• "The Fed has so far, rightly, avoided commenting on the possible implications of the trade and immigration policies of the new administration, but the emergence of new details on tariff measures since last week offers a platform for Powell to add more specifics around the thought process," Societe Generale analysts wrote in a morning note.
• Powell's Senate testimony is the first of two days of hearings on Capitol Hill. He is set to speak to the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday.
• Traders expect at least one 25-basis-point rate cut from the Fed this year, and a 44% chance of another reduction of the same magnitude, according to LSEG data.

(Sources: Reuters & Yahoo Today)