Fed Chief Powell says stock prices appear 'fairly highly valued'

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday noted that asset prices, a category that typically includes stocks and other risk instruments, are at elevated levels.

During a speech in Providence, Rhode Island, the central bank leader was asked how much emphasis he and his colleagues place on market prices and whether they have a higher tolerance for higher values.

“We do look at overall financial conditions, and we ask ourselves whether our policies are affecting financial conditions in a way that is what we're trying to achieve,” Powell said. “But you're right, by many measures, for example, equity prices are fairly highly valued.”

In the run-up to last week's policy meetings, stocks and other assets rallied strongly as conviction grew that that the Federal Open Market Committee would be lowering its benchmark overnight borrowing rate. Stocks have continued to climb, setting a succession of record highs for major averages, since the decision Wednesday to cut by a quarter percentage point.

“Markets listen to us and follow and they make an estimation of where they think rates are going. And so they'll price things in,” Powell said in part of the conversation dealing with mortgage rates.

Though Powell noted the lofty equity values, he said this is “not a time of elevated financial stability risks.”