Key insights
- Following a surge in inflation, traders are now pricing in a potential rate hike at the next Fed meeting, a shift from previous expectations of rate cuts. The NASDAQ experienced a significant intraday drop but recovered, suggesting underlying market resilience or a belief that long-term growth prospects outweigh short-term macro concerns. This shift in Fed expectations poses a bearish signal for US equities.
Traders are suddenly pricing in a possible rate hike at the next Fed meeting after the inflation print, which is a pretty sharp flip from the “rate cuts soon” narrative just a short time ago (CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/15/traders-now-see-next-fed-interest-rate-move-as-a-hike-following-inflation-surge.html).
NASDAQ was down almost 2% at the lows and then just slowly clawed its way back like the macro story didn’t really matter that much in the end. what I think people are saying we all know it is going back up again so why even sell at this point or nothing matters anymore