US stocks soared on Friday as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell opened the door for a September rate cut during his highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose nearly 2%, touching a record intraday high, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up about 1.6%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed 1.9%.

Friday’s surge came on the heels of a downbeat week for stocks, as tech stocks were beaten up by AI trade doubts.

Fed Chair Powell opened the possibility of the central bank lowering interest rates in September on Friday, saying in his speech that “the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance.”

With the speech touching both on the economic outlook and the Fed’s new policy framework, Powell still noted that risks from inflation remain “tilted to the upside,” saying that tariff-related inflation pressures “are now clearly visible.”

His remarks shook up rate-cut bets, which had been waning after a weak monthly jobs report. Traders on Friday were pricing in about 91.5% odds of a September cut compared to 70% earlier in the morning and 85% a week ago.

Meanwhile, the 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields fell after Powell’s remarks. The commentary also spurred a gain in cryptocurrencies led by Ethereum (ETH-USD).

The White House was also watching Powell’s speech as closely as Wall Street. President Trump has continued to push the Fed and Powell to lower rates, and this week he opened a new front in his public pressure campaign testing the central bank’s independence, with a call for the resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud. On Friday, he upped that pressure, saying he’ll “fire” her if she doesn’t resign, though legally, presidents cannot easily dismiss Fed governors.

On the earnings front, Zoom (ZM) stock popped Friday after reporting an AI boost, and Ross Stores (ROST) jumped as shoppers sought discounts amid tariffs. Intuit (INTU) and Workday (WDAY), meanwhile, slid.

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