Inflation dominates Powell's remarks, pressures stocks. Plus, big earnings tonight

CNBC Finance

4 min read

Every weekday, the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer releases the Homestretch â an actionable afternoon update, just in time for the last hour of trading on Wall Street. Stocks fell on Wednesday , giving up a big chunk of this week's gains. The S & P 500 took a leg down to session lows after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady . That was expected. It was Fed Chairman Jerome Powell saying inflation is not coming down as quickly as hoped that pressured stocks. Powell expects the surge in oil prices due to the Iran war to increase inflation in the near term. Hotter-than-expected wholesale inflation data and West Texas Intermediate crude briefly topping $99 per barrel on Wednesday certainly emphasized Powell's stance. Brent international crude almost hit $110 after Iran warned of retaliatory strikes on energy assets in the Persian Gulf after an attack on one of its gas fields. While the Fed projected one rate cut this year, Powell said that could change depending on the longer-term inflation picture. Powell's term as central bank chairman ends in May. President Donald Trump has been vocal that the Fed needs to cut rates further. Trump picked former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Powell. Warsh's nomination still needs Senate approval. Powell said he plans to stay on as Fed chief until Warsh is confirmed. The Federal Open Markets Committee ended its two-day March meeting on Wednesday by keeping rates unchanged at a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The vote by the central bank's policymaking group was 11-1, with Fed governor Stephen Miran preferring to cut rates by 25 basis points. The outcome was not a surprise. Rate cut expectations have come down significantly in the past month on fears that rising oil prices will cause an inflation spike. The FOMC also updated its Summary of Economic Projections at the meeting for the first time since December. Within this report are the "dot plots" that show where individual policymakers expect interest rates to go in the future. The market often reads too much into this projection because policy changes with data. But for now, as mentioned earlier, the committee members are expecting only one rate cut this year. The Fed cut rates three times at the end of last year and three times at the end of 2024. The Fed currently finds itself in a bind while navigating risks of higher inflation from the war and tariffs, with downside risks in the labor market due to AI replacing jobs. As for now, Powell said the committee is on the "borderline of restrictive versus not restrictive" as they balance their dual mandate to foster maximum employment and stable prices. There is an important earnings release after Wednesday's closing bell that could have implications for the AI buildout and broader tech industry. Micron reports quarterly results, and what the company says about memory market conditions â demand versus supply constraints â will help investors better understand how tight the DRAM market is expected to last. DRAM is a key component in semiconductor chips, and its surging prices are creating cost pressures for hardware companies such as Apple and Cisco Systems. Five Below also reports Wednesday evening. Before Thursday's opening bell, Alibaba , Accenture , and Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants report their earnings. The latter could offer some insight into whether consumer spending patterns have changed since the war began. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

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Inflation dominates Powell's remarks, pressures stocks. Plus, big earnings tonight

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