In the press conference following the Fed’s decision to keep rates unchanged, Powell hesitated to guide toward a rate in the coming months. He struck a hawkish tone, according to a note by Bank of America’s macroeconomics team, putting a damper on investor hopes that the FOMC’s next meeting in September could bring a rate cut.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is solid — and that it's also too early to tell how tariffs will affect it.

This was the fifth consecutive meeting at which the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) kept its benchmark Federal Funds rate unchanged at 4.25-4.5%.