The First Interest Rate Cut of 2025 Could Happen Next Week. Here's What It Means for the Stock Market.

Group 1 - The U.S. Federal Reserve is mandated to support a healthy jobs market and control inflation by adjusting the federal funds rate based on unemployment and CPI deviations from target levels [1] - Currently, the Fed faces a dilemma as job creation is significantly below expectations while CPI remains above the 2% target, complicating policy decisions [2][10] - Wall Street anticipates an interest rate cut at the upcoming Fed meeting on September 16 and 17, despite the conflicting economic indicators [3][9] Group 2 - The CPI surged by 8% in 2022, marking a 40-year high due to pandemic-related stimulus and supply chain issues, which negatively impacted consumer spending and corporate profits [5] - In response, the Fed raised the effective federal funds rate from 0.1% to 5.33% over 18 months, successfully reducing CPI to 4.1% in 2023 and trending towards the 2% target [6][7] - The Fed has not yet cut interest rates in 2025, but a weakening job market may necessitate action in the near future [9][10] Group 3 - The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs in July, falling short of the 110,000 estimate, with prior months' job numbers revised down by 258,000, indicating worse economic performance than expected [11]