Nasdaq’s Wild 48 Hours: Fed Jitters, Tech Tumbles & Surprise Rallies – Sept 23–24 Roundup
Wall Street’s bull run hit turbulence on Tuesday, Sept. 23, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell struck a balanced but cautious tone in his remarks. Speaking six days after the Fed’s first rate cut of 2025, Powell emphasized the “no risk-free path”forward – the central bank must tame inflation without unduly harming the now-weakening job market. Notably, he warned that equity valuations appeared “fairly highly valued,” a signal that the recent surge in stocks may have outpaced fundamentals. This lack of a clear green light on further rate relief rattled investors who had been banking on more easy money. Powell “left the door open for another rate cut” but gave “really no hint of when and how much” it might be, explained Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital. That ambiguity “began to sell off” the overheated market, which was “ripe for some sort of a pullback,” Cardillo noted.
