Powell, speaking at the Jackson Hole Symposium on Friday, said the central bank could possibly cut rates in September amid increasing risks to the labor market.

But the Fed Chair warned that the decision was not set in stone, especially as risks from inflation remained. Fed policymakers have repeatedly cited uncertainty over the inflationary impact of President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. 

Still, Powell’s comments were relatively dovish when compared to recent signaling from the Fed, and saw markets ramp up bets on a September rate cut. Wall Street indexes also rose sharply following his comments, reversing most of last week’s losses.

The S&P 500 rose 1.5% to 6,466.91 points on Friday. The NASDAQ Composite rose 1.9% to 21,496, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.9% to a record-high 45,631.74 points. The US Small Cap 2000 surged 3.9% on Friday after Powell’s speech.