U.S. stock benchmarks struggled for altitude Thursday morning, a day after the Federal Reserve signaled its intention to raise interest rates sooner than previously forecast and upped its forecast for inflation and economic growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.28%,
which closed below its 50-day moving average on wednesday for the first time since early March, was inching higher at 34,059, up 25 points, or less than 0.1%; the S&P 500 index
SPX,
-0.08%
was rising to 4,229, up 4 points, buoyed by gains in financials and consumer staples. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.13%
was trading at 14,059, up 0.1%, as rates for benchmark government debt remained somewhat buoyant, weighing on yield-sensitive sectors. On Wednesday, the Fed’s median projection showed that policy makers see a lift to benchmark rates, currently at a range between 0% and 0.25%, to 0.6% by the end of 2023, sooner than they anticipated in March. Thursday’s moves come as the U.S. dollar has made bullish post-Fed moves. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY,
+0.58%,
a gauge of the dollar against a half-dozen currencies, was up 0.6% at 91.69.
