Fed stay the course, but is it enough for markets?

Federal Reserve officials signalled that they expect to keep interest rates close to zero until at least 2024, as they look for the economy to reach full employment before changing stance. Even as the Fed upgraded its 2021 growth forecast to 6.5%, which would be the fastest expansion since 1984, they remain unperturbed in their stance that the economy requires vast support through ultra-easy monetary policy. Major US indices rallied on the news, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to an all-time high. However, the Federal Reserve’s apparent willingness to keep pumping support into the economy and let it run hotter has spurred inflation fears, sending market expectations of price pressures to multiyear highs which investors expect to challenge the Fed’s resolve.