The federal funds rate is a benchmark that influences other interest rates throughout the economy. The Federal Reserve doesn't control the federal funds rate directly. Instead, it uses various monetary policy tools to steer the benchmark toward a target range, which is currently 4.75% to 5%.

Indexes rallied Thursday, with tech stocks leading the Nasdaq to rise 2.5% as investors continued to digest Wednesday's jumbo rate cut from the Fed.

The latest batch of quarterly forecasts from the Federal Reserve showed policy makers have had a change of heart since June about the pace of interest rate cuts in 2024. The latest iteration of the Fed's "dot plot" penciled in two more quarter-point cuts before the end of the year,