Stock, Bonds Fall as Investors Turn Cautious on Powell’s Speech, Trump Trade

After a post-election risk-taking binge, stock investors sobered up this week as Jerome Powell’s go-slow message on interest-rate cuts cooled the Trump trade euphoria that drove Wall Street to records.

With the world’s most important central banker in no hurry to ease monetary policy thanks to a still-robust labor market and strong economic data, bond yields once again rose and dragged stocks lower in their wake. Down 2% over five sessions, the S&P 500 erased half of its trough-to-peak gains since the election. Combined with losses in corporate credit and commodities, the week rounded out a pan-asset retreat that by one measure was the worst in 13 months.