Wall St jumps more than 1.0pc as Powell hints at rate cut

LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters): Wall Street's main indexes climbed more than 1% on Friday and the dollar fell on Friday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pointed to a possible rate cut at the central bank's September meeting.
Powell stopped short of committing to cutting interest rates as he tried to walk a narrow line acknowledging growing risks to the job market while also saying risks of higher inflation remain.
His remarks, to the annual central banking symposium at Jackson Hole, are his final address as chair of the Fed.
Share markets rallied in response to Powell's speech, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4% and 1.6% respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% to a record intraday high.
Government bonds also welcomed the news with the rate-sensitive two-year Treasury yield down nearly 10 basis points at 3.69% . Benchmark 10-year yields fell 6 bps to 4.27%.
Powell's past speeches at the event have often moved markets, and this year's remarks are under particularly close scrutiny as his position has come under heavy criticism from US President Donald Trump, sparking concerns about potential threats to the Fed's independence.
His comments open the door to a rate cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting, and while he put heavy weight on jobs and inflation reports that will be received before then, analysts said Powell appeared to be putting greater weight on the former.
"Chair Powell was able to talk about the balance of risk shifting and therefore the potential of shifting of policy would be appropriate," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, B. Riley Wealth.
"That's a clear hint that Chair Powell is open to supporting rate cuts in the future."