Warsh experiences worst ‘Fed day’ S&P 500 performance for a new chair since 1994
A television channel broadcasts the speech of US Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) hall in New York, USA, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
If the stock market is a report card, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is not emerging from his first policy meeting on high marks.
S&P 500 It fell 1.2% in Wednesday’s session as losses widened at Warsh’s inaugural news conference as president.
That marks the worst performance for the broad index on the first “Fed day” under a new presidency since 1994, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
S&P 500, 1 day
Of course, only three other new Fed leaders were named at that time: Ben Bernanke, Jerome Powell and Janet Yellen. On the days of these presidents’ first Fed meetings, the S&P 500 index closed lower, but none of the magnitude seen on Wednesday.
Bespoke’s figures date back to 1994 because before that year the central bank had not officially announced its rate target. Greenspan initiated this practice as president.
Some investors saw Warsh’s focus on delivering steady price growth as a sign that future rate cuts may not be as likely as previously expected. The Fed kept interest rates steady on Wednesday, as widely expected by the market, despite clear pressure to cut from President Donald Trump, who nominated Warsh.
“He’s certainly telling you that he plans to achieve price stability,” DoubleLine Capital CEO Jeffrey Gundlach said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “That means we won’t have as easy monetary policy as Chairman Warsh thinks we can in the first quarter of this year, when everyone is counting on rate cuts.”
In fact, traders are increasingly expecting the opposite scenario after some Fed officials signaled a possible rate hike this year. Fed funds futures indicate that the central bank may raise interest rates in October.
The Dow fell 500 points on Wednesday, giving up the day’s gains before the Fed decision.
Warsh’s first speech on Wednesday also gave a clear idea of what the “regime change” he promised for the central bank would look like. The closely watched Fed meeting significantly shortened its statement and announced task forces focused on overhauling the central bank’s operations.
— CNBC’s Yun Li contributed to this report.
