Street watching Fed’s intent

NEW YORK – Freeze, hike or cut. Investors aren’t losing sleep over any of the moves the Federal Reserve might make when the central bank’s policymakers meet Wednesday.

Equity strategists say the stock markets have already priced in the eventuality that the Fed will keep interest rates steady after raising them 17 straight times over a two-year period.

Following the Fed’s pause in August, Wall Street has grown more confident that Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues will make no radical moves for the balance of the year.

Instead, investors will be intently watching what Bernanke is thinking about the economy long-term. The most market-moving outcome of the meeting will likely be a Fed statement saying it is satisfied with the economy moderating as expected, and that signs of accelerating inflation are minimal.

“There’s this obsession with the future,” said Anthony Chan, chief economist at JPMorgan Private Client Services. “Investors are looking for signals around the message, rather than the decision itself.”

Wall Street will focus most of its attention on the bias that comes along with the Fed’s decision; that’s the Fed’s assessment of where it stands on interest rates – whether it’s likely to raise or lower them or keep them stable.