The Federal Open Market Committee met on Wednesday, and markets were expecting a more conservative approach due to inflation concerns. However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the next policy move is unlikely to be a rate hike and that rate cuts remain the main scenario, although they will be implemented later than expected.
Friday's employment report was released, which did not meet market expectations. In April, nonfarm payrolls showed an increase of 175,000 jobs. This was significantly below the consensus forecast of 240,000. In addition, the readings for February and March were revised down by 22,000.