Markets Drop Again on Fed Chair Powell's Assessment

Market Performance - Major market indexes experienced significant declines, with the Dow down 699 points (-1.73%), S&P 500 down 120 points (-2.24%), Nasdaq down 516 points (-3.07%), and Russell 2000 down 19 points (-1.03%) [1] - The Nasdaq faced larger losses compared to other indexes, primarily due to NVIDIA's H20 chips being restricted for China, resulting in a projected loss of $5.5 billion for the company [2] Federal Reserve Insights - Fed Chair Jerome Powell's address highlighted ongoing market volatility and high uncertainty, with the S&P 500 dropping 1% during his speech and 2% by its conclusion [3] - Powell expressed concerns about the potential for high inflation and high unemployment due to tariff policies, indicating that the Fed may face tough decisions regarding interest rates [3] - He emphasized that the current economic situation does not warrant reliance on a Fed "put" to stabilize the economy and noted that U.S. debt is on an unsustainable path, although not at unsustainable levels currently [4]