Overview

• In a Rhode Island speech, Jerome Powell said “equity prices are fairly highly valued.”
• He said the Federal Reserve evaluates overall financial conditions to determine whether policy is having the intended effect.
• The S&P 500 logged 32 all-time highs this year through Oct. 6, and the Dow and Nasdaq also posted multiple record closes.
• Investor enthusiasm for technologies such as artificial intelligence and expectations for rate easing have supported the rally, according to the report.
• Coverage likened Powell’s phrasing to Alan Greenspan’s 1996 “irrational exuberance” remark, noting the rarity of such direct valuation comments from a Fed chair.