U.S. equity markets advanced this week while benchmark interest rates retreated after the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its rate cut path in 2024, indicating that the committee was unfazed by recent hot inflation readings. Updated "dot plots" from the FOMC showed that officials maintained their plans for three rate cuts this year even as their updated outlook incorporated expectations of hotter inflation and stronger economic growth - a policy indication that was consistent with the relatively "dovish" tone of other major central banks decisions this week across Europe and Asia.