On Thursday, March 21st, U.S. stock markets closed higher for a second day, buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s hints at upcoming rate cuts and a surge in chip stocks following Micron Technology’s positive forecast.

In economic data, U.S. jobless claims fell to 210,000, beating estimates of 215,000. The current account deficit narrowed to $194.8 billion, less than the expected $209 billion. Service PMI dipped to 51.7, and manufacturing PMI rose to a 21-month high of 52.5.    

Nine of the S&P 500’s eleven sectors saw gains, led by industrials. Utilities and communications sectors lagged behind.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.68% to close at 39,781.37. The S&P 500 was up 0.32%, ending the day at 5,241.53, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.20%, finishing the session at 16,401.84.

Asia Markets Today

• On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed the session higher by 0.15% at 40,896.50, led by gains in the Paper & Pulp, Banking and Insurance sectors.
• In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.15% and closed at 7,770.60, led by losses in the Energy, Gold and Resources sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 closed higher by 0.39% at 22,096.75, and the Nifty 500 rose 0.49% to 19,994.60.
• China’s Shanghai Composite declined 0.95% to 3,048.03, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 was down 1.01%, closing at 3,545.00.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped 2.16%, concluding the day at 16,499.47.

Eurozone at 06:15 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.11%.
• Germany’s DAX gained 0.14%.
• France’s CAC slid 0.07%.
• U.K’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.96%.

Commodities at 06:15 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 0.01% at $81.09/bbl, and Brent was down 0.02% at $85.75/bbl.
• Natural Gas was down 0.36% to $1.678.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.77% at $2,167.90, Silver declined 0.98% to $24.764, while Copper was down 1.02% at $4.0172.

US Futures at 06:15 AM ET       

Dow futures were up 0.08%, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures rose 0.13%.

Forex at 06:15 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.96% to 104.41, USD/JPY was down 0.01% to 151.60, and USD/AUD rose 0.87% to 1.5353.

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