Traders brace for a ‘hawkish cut’ from the Fed. Here’s what that means

The Federal Reserve is expected to reduce its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday, but don't expect markets to take off in response. That's because traders around Wall Street expect it to be a "hawkish cut." JPMorgan traders, citing the bank's head U.S. economist, explained that a hawkish Fed rate cut would entail two things Wednesday: The so-called dotplot — which indicates where individual Fed voting members see the overnight rate going — signals the central bank as a group expects to cut only once next year. That's not exactly the low-rate regime some investors and President Donald Trump are clamoring for. Chairman Jerome Powell at his news conference signals concern still remains about inflation and doesn't commit to any future monetary action. Wall Street appears