“Based on the meeting today, I would tell you that I don’t think it’s likely that the committee will reach a level of confidence by the time of the March meeting to identify March as the time to do that [cut interest rates]. But that’s to be seen,”

Fed Chief Jerome Powell at the 2024 January FOMC Press Conference

Once that was said, stocks turned decidedly negative. While the market’s first interpretation is not always its final interpretation, the 1.5% decline is the worst single-day for the S&P 500 since September.

Worth noting, sure. Worth panicking, no.

Market is overdue for a breather, and for a Fed that views the Volcker Fed as the gold standard, the March cut was ambitious to put it kindly.

One Take Away

In my view, this wasn’t – or at least shouldn’t have been – a revelatory event. However, given the quote concerning the March FOMC, there is one definitive take away:

💲Cash💲 keeps the 👑crown👑 for another 3-6 months.

The yield on cash – in money markets or equivalents – won’t be moving down from 4-5.5% as quickly as anticipated. The decision on what to do with that cash just got pushed out until the second half of the year.