Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech at the Kansas City Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole significantly impacted the U.S. stock market. Powell declared that “the time has come” for the central bank to begin cutting interest rates, which led to a surge in the S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. The S&P 500 rose 1.2%, the Dow Jones added 1.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 1.5%.

The real estate sector, in particular, benefited from Powell’s remarks, with the SPDR Real Estate ETF (XLRE) gaining 1.9%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the gains, with notable stocks like Redfin (RDFN), Roku (ROKU), and Intuit (INTU) experiencing significant increases.

Powell’s speech emphasized that the direction of travel is clear, and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks. This announcement comes just over three weeks before the Fed’s September 17-18 meeting, where the first interest rate cut since 2020 is expected to be announced.

The market’s reaction was driven by investors’ anticipation of an easing cycle, which has been influenced by recent softness in the labor market and a slowdown in the U.S. economy. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield also decreased to around 3.8% following Powell’s comments.