Fed officials have much to weigh at their December meeting. Inflation has been stuck above target for nearly five years, and the labor market is softening in uneven and sometimes painful ways. But for now, many policymakers seem more worried about doing too much than too little.

An early swoon shook the stock market on Friday, as Nvidia, bitcoin, gold and other high flyers swung on an increasingly antsy Wall Street, but it quickly calmed. After starting the day with a sharp drop of 1.