Wall Street Today | Powell Signals Fed Will Raise Rates If Needed, Keep Them High

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank is prepared to raise interest rates further if needed and intends to keep borrowing costs high until inflation is on a convincing path toward the Fed's 2% target.

"Although inflation has moved down from its peak — a welcome development — it remains too high," Powell said in a speech Friday at the US central bank's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "We are prepared to raise rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective."

The greenback climbed while US Treasuries slipped after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers are prepared to raise interest rates further if needed in the fight to reign in inflation.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index strengthened on Friday, bringing its weekly advance to 0.2%. The US currency is poised to cap off a six-week streak of gains, the longest since May 2022. All Group of 10 currencies minus the Australian dollar weakened against the greenback this week as investors contemplate the Fed's path.

President Christine Lagarde said the European Central Bank will set borrowing costs as high as needed and leave them there for as long as it takes to bring inflation back to its goal.

Describing an "era of uncertainty," Lagarde said it's important that central banks provide an anchor for the economy and ensure price stability in line with their respective mandates.

Oil posted its second straight weekly decline as signals of additional crude supplies and a deteriorating global demand outlook loomed over a string of thinly traded sessions.

Crude has had a volatile week, with prices often struggling for direction amid thin summer trading. Oil's open interest is hovering near January lows, while the US Oil Fund ETF reported its biggest daily outflow since 2020 on Wednesday.

Advisers to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania-based pharmacy chain have entered confidential discussions to hash out a plan ahead of the filing, said the people, who asked not to be named because discussions are private. The company is still finalizing its plans, which could change, the people added. Rite Aid is one of the largest pharmacy chains in the US, with more than 2,200 locations.

Instacart, the grocery delivery company that slashed its valuation during last year’s market slide, filed its paperwork to go public on Friday in what’s poised to be the first significant venture-backed tech IPO since December 2021.

The stock will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "CART." In its prospectus, the company said net income totaled $114 million, while revenue in the latest quarter hit $716 million, a 15% increase from the year-ago period.

This past week saw Esmark, a potential buyer of United States Steel bow out of the process after Cleveland-Cliffs gained the backing of the United Steelworkers union for its bid. It was a low hurdle for Cleveland-Cliffs to cross; Gordon Haskett analyst Don Bilson called the rival bid from privately held Esmark "disingenuous," citing a lack of financing details.

Affirm Holdings stock stock was surging Friday but Wall Street analysts were divided on whether it's the right time to back the stock after the pay later company shrugged off concerns about strains on consumers in its latest update.