Fed decision: Financial stability 'more important' than inflation, says strategist

After a week of chaos in the banking industry, including the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SIVB) and Signature Bank (SBNY), and the forced marriage of UBS and Credit Suisse, investors' focus has now shifted to the Federal Reserve. Fed officials are set to convene this week for one of its most uncertain policy meetings of the year, with the central bank now at a crossroads between fighting inflation and maintaining financial stability.

"They really have to balance out this inflation fighting with stability," Meera Pandit, JPMorgan Asset Management Global Market Strategist, tells Yahoo Finance. "There's a lot of evidence that the Fed should start winding down it's Fed hiking cycle."

Pandit lays out evidence that a Fed pause is on the table: February's Consumer Price Index gains, wage growth, consumer expectations of inflation, tightening financial conditions, and banking woes show that it "makes sense for the Fed to get closer and closer towards a pause," she says.

Key Video Moments

00:00:01: What markets are pricing in

00:00:15: Fed balancing inflation vs. financial stability

00:00:43: Evidence of a future Fed pause