The hope among investors had been that Powell would hint that the Fed's first cut to interest rates of the year may be imminent.

So many Federal Reserve officials have said they are waiting for data over the next few weeks before deciding on a September rate cut that it doesn't leave Fed Chair Jerome Powell much room to clearly signal a rate cut,

Not even 48 hours after the conclusion of last month's meeting, data from the Labor Department appeared to validate the concerns of Bowman and Waller when it showed fewer jobs than expected were created in July.