In my opinion, rate hikes are still Walsh's version of verbal tightening, also known as expectation management tightening. Walsh releases rate hike expectations and uses them to forcibly push up the risk-free yield. In reality, the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield has been pushed up to around 5.19%, which has already helped the Fed achieve part of the macro effects of a rate hike. Additionally, the current S&P and Nasdaq are relying on end-of-day options and algorithmic hedging, with speculation running extremely high. Direct rate hikes could easily trigger uncontrollable liquidity crunches in financial assets, similar to what happened in the crypto market during 2021-2022. By frequently dangling the Damocles sword of potential rate hikes, it can make the overly aggressive derivatives bulls more cautious, essentially deflating market bubbles at the lowest cost. Moreover, the main drivers of this round of inflation are geopolitical factors and energy. Rate hikes won't have a very noticeable pain-relief effect. The U.S. stock market is still holding above the S&P 7300-7400 range. Big money and institutions are still betting against the Fed, wagering that third-quarter inflation will naturally ease due to the energy base effect. The next key checkpoint for the market will be the CPI data for July and August.