In 2022, investors relied on buying equities and bonds before Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s post-FOMC press conference to make money.

The stock market experienced a 1.6% increase in March, followed by a 2% increase in May, 2% in June, and 1.6% in July.

The FOMC’s easy-money days seem to have ended, and Powell’s press briefings have mostly been minor losses since February.

However, the market turbulence that started the hiking cycle is fading, and with inflation dropping and the economy stabilizing, rates are more predictable than when Powell was hastily coordinating the greatest increases in decades.

Traders can misread Powell’s comments less, and many theories overlap.

Some argue that investors heard what they wanted, and they grabbed any remarks that seemed to indicate the hiking cycle was almost done and rate cuts were coming, even if Powell hadn’t intended to.