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Wall Street's main indexes regained some ground on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve's projections of fewer-than-expected interest rate cuts and higher inflation next year wrong-footed some investors and pummeled U.S. stocks. The Fed on Wednesday said it expects to make just two 25 basis point cuts in 2025, half a percentage point less than its September forecast and raised inflation expectations for the first year of the new Trump administration, sending the three main U.S. stock indexes to their sharpest daily declines since August. Traders now see just one quarter-point rate reduction by mid-2025, and see less than two cuts in total by the end of the year, compared with last week's expectations of three rate cuts.

(Reuters) -Conagra Brands on Thursday joined rival General Mills in trimming its annual profit forecast and warning that price cuts on its products across grocery, snacks and frozen food items to spark demand will weigh on margins. Consumers, wary of higher grocery prices, have turned to cheaper private label brands, hurting sales at packaged food companies including Conagra, Campbell's Co, Kraft Heinz and JM Smucker. Conagra, which typically caters to more budget-strapped customers, said volumes improved in the snacking and staples categories such as microwave popcorn, and frozen vegetables on the back of promotions, thought it remains cautious on deep discounting.

(Reuters) -Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday, supported by falling U.S. crude inventories, though gains were limited after the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled it would slow the pace of interest rate cuts in 2025, a move that could dampen economic growth, reduce fuel demand, and strengthen the dollar. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for January delivery gained 68 cents, or 0.96% to $71.26. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates and signalled it will slow the pace at which borrowing costs fall further, given a relatively stable unemployment rate and little recent improvement in inflation.

The U.S. economy grew faster than previously estimated in the third quarter, driven by robust consumer spending. Gross domestic product increased at an upwardly revised 3.1% annualized rate, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said in its third estimate of third-quarter GDP on Thursday. The revision reflected upgrades to consumer spending and export growth, which offset a downward revision to private inventory investment and upward revision to imports.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell markedly last week following a big increase the week before. Jobless claim applications declined by 22,000 to 220,000 for the week of Dec. 14, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, fell by 5,000 to 1.87 million for the week of Dec. 7.

The American economy grew at a healthy 3.1% annual clip from July through September, propelled by vigorous consumer spending and an uptick in exports, the government said in an upgrade to its previous estimate. Third-quarter growth in U.S. gross domestic product — the economy's output of goods and services — accelerated from the April-July rate of 3% and continued to look sturdy despite high interest rates, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, expanded at a 3.7% pace, fastest since the first quarter of 2023 and an uptick from Commerce’s previous third-quarter estimate of 3.5%.

The Bank of England wrapped up a big year of central bank rate cuts by keeping rates steady on Thursday, a day after the Federal Reserve eased policy but suggested it would be more cautious in 2025. The Swiss National Bank, which has been at the forefront of monetary easing, cut rates by an unexpectedly large 50 basis points (bps) to 0.5% last week, the lowest since November 2022 and the bank's biggest reduction in almost a decade. It indicated further easing would be gradual after annual inflation accelerated to 2%, but with Canada's weak economy threatened by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs, markets placed 50% odds on a 25-bps cut next month.