Federal Reserve officials signalled a more cautious approach to easing policy, pointing to inflation readings that have stopped falling as quickly as they did through the middle of last year.
The shift matters less for what it says about any single meeting than for what it implies about the path. Markets that had been positioned for a steady sequence of cuts are now pricing a slower, more conditional path.
Rate-sensitive assets responded first. Short-dated yields rose, the dollar firmed against the major currencies, and equity sectors most exposed to financing costs underperformed.