Investors head into Fed decision at their most bullish since February
Sentiment is high heading into the Federal Reserve decision. Investors are at their most bullish since February, according to the latest global fund manager survey released Tuesday from Bank of America Securities. The Wall Street firm said the survey’s broadest sentiment measure — which was calculated based on a mix of growth expectations, cash levels and equity allocations — rose to 5.4 from 4.5. That confidence comes just ahead of the Fed’s Sept. 16-17 meeting in which, outside of a major surprise, the bulls may get even more good news for their case. The central bank is widely expected to lower interest rates by a quarter point for the first time in 2025, with a half-percentage-point cut also a possibility. Investors are also hopeful the Fed will cut rates aggressively going forward. Markets were last pricing in roughly four quarter-point cuts by March, according to the CME FedWatch Tool. At last look, there were six cuts priced in by the end of 2026, the data showed. .SPX YTD mountain SPX year to date Part of that forecast comes from the makeup of the Fed, which investors expect could tilt dovish moving forward. On Monday, the Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s pick, Stephen Miran, as Fed governor. Meanwhile, Trump’s legal battle with Lisa Cook continues. More importantly, however, investors are expecting that the recent raft of weak economic data — which have shown growing cracks in the labor market — will mean the Fed will have to start cutting to support growth. There’s also hope that Trump’s spending bill will stimulate the economy. BofA’s fund manager survey shows growth expectations are at their highest going back to October 2024, with 67% of survey respondents anticipating a soft landing for the economy. Cash levels are at a low 3.9%. Investors are the most overweight global equities they have been in seven months. That optimism has spurred stocks to record highs. The S & P 500 closed above 6,600 on Monday for the first time. Yet, concerns remain. The Fed typically embarks on an aggressive easing cycle when the economy falls into a downturn, an outcome that has some market observers warning investors to be careful what they wish for. Inflation remains sticky, though it’s not at alarming levels. On top of that, the labor market is showing signs of slowing. But the market is able to brush those concerns aside for now. The S & P 500 scaled to a fresh intraday record on Tuesday before trading marginally lower. ( Learn the best 2026 strategies from inside the NYSE with Josh Brown and others at CNBC PRO Live. Tickets and info here . )
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