According to a report by China Securities News this morning, the Federal Reserve triggered a market shock.

At 2 am Beijing time on the morning of March 21st, the Federal Reserve announced that it would maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 5.25% to 5.5%, unchanged. This is the fifth consecutive "pause" since last September, which is consistent with market expectations.

Subsequently, the speech of Federal Reserve Chairman Powell at the press conference sent a "dovish" signal. He stated that he believes interest rates may be at a cyclical peak, and it is appropriate to begin cutting interest rates at some point this year, but inflation is still high. In addition, the Federal Reserve's latest dot plot predicts that interest rates will be reduced by 75 basis points this year, equivalent to a total of three cuts of 25 basis points.

In response, the US stock market reacted very sharply. After Powell's press conference, the three major US stock indices collectively surged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by more than 540 points intraday, and the Nasdaq Composite Index had the largest gain. As of the close, the S&P 500 Index rose by 0.89%, breaking through the 5200 level for the first time in history; the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.03%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index surged by 1.25%, both reaching record highs. At the same time, gold prices also rose sharply across the board, Spot gold broke through the $2200/ounce mark, reaching a new historical high of $2222.9/ounce at its highest point.