Catering to the stock market, instead of pursuing its stated goal of getting inflation to 2%, is not what the Fed should be doing. The U.S. Federal Reserve has a tough job — and the way it communicates with the markets only makes it tougher.

Stocks have defied even the most bullish forecasts since bottoming in October 2022, with the S&P 500 returning roughly 65 percent in that span. To strategist Tom Essaye, who writes the Sevens Report, markets will need almost picture-perfect conditions to keep that momentum: