Levitating stocks unlikely to help Fed's economic equality efforts

U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell tried to address economic inequalities in his landmark policy move. Still the Fed holding rates lower-for-longer may support bulging asset prices - which is unlikely to benefit the neediest and could well widen the wealth gap in the near term.

An analysis of 2016 Federal Reserve data by Edward Wolff, an economics professor at New York University, said that 84per cent of stocks owned by U.S. households are held by the wealthiest 10per cent of Americans, limiting the power of a stock market rally to turn into broad gains in household wealth.

The new central bank policy provided a bit more fuel to stocks on Thursday, with the S&P rising 0.2per cent - up more than 50per cent from its March low.

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