Damian J. Troise
Stocks were mixed Thursday as investors continued to interpret new guidance from the Federal Reserve which is now looking at potentially raising interest rates as soon as 2023.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.1% as of 11:43 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down, 194 points, or 0.6%, to 33,839 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.1%.
Technology stocks were the biggest gainers and helped lift the broader market. Communications and health care stocks also rose.
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Fed policymakers on Wednesday estimated that they would raise interest rates twice by late 2023, earlier than a previous forecast of no hikes before 2024. That’s because the Fed indicated it sees the U.S. economy improving faster than previously expected, through trillions of dollars of government aid and ultra-low interest rates.
Much of the choppiness in the market has been tied to investors trying to figure out just when the Fed is going to ease up on its support for the economy through bond purchases and low interest rates.
While the economy still needs support, the recovery is proving to be strong enough that it does not need the same emergency measures taken at the beginning of the pandemic, said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower.
“We are going to get a taper,” she said. “They need to, we do not need emergency stimulus…
