Another rate cut, but where’s the rally? The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates for the third time this year, yet investor enthusiasm is fading. Markets seem cautious, and key indices remain range-bound. Is this a signal of deeper concerns — or a setup for the next leg of the bull run?

The path of US interest rates from 2020

Yesterday's decision by the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates represents a turning point for markets that have been in a phase of speculation, anticipation and switching between optimism and fear for months. After a long period of vigorous rate hikes to tame soaring inflation, there is now a shift in the opposite direction. Although markets have been internally resigned to this possibility for some time, the very moment of the decision has brought a new wave of impulses into the system that need to be thoroughly understood and put into a broader context. The rate cut is not just a technical monetary policy move. It is a signal that the central bank…