Fed officials and data keep signaling Wall Street won't get continued cuts

Stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data is complicating Wall Street’s hopes for rapid Fed rate cuts. Weekly jobless claims fell and Q2 GDP grew 3.8%, suggesting resilience even as inflation hovers near 3%, above the Fed’s 2% target. That has pushed Treasury yields higher and weighed on tech stocks, with Vanguard’s Kevin Khang warning the path to sustained cuts remains “narrow.”

U.S. economic data keeps coming back stronger than expected, and frankly it’s raining on the parade for markets.

For the majority of 2025, investors have been hankering after multiple base interest rate cuts from Jerome Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), knowing it would kickstart cheaper borrowing and foster economic activity. The general consensus was that once the Fed was confident enough t