US Markets U.S. stock futures were flat overnight after markets rose on Thursday. - Shares of First Republic Bank fell significantly in after-hours trading after gaining 10% on Thursday.
- The major stock indexes are set to finish the week in the green. The Nasdaq has gained 5.16% so far this week, the S&P 500 has risen 2.56%, and the Dow is up 1.06%.
- The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 3.57050%
| Dow Jones | 32,246.55 | 1.17% | | S&P 500 | 3,960.28 | 1.76% | | Nasdaq | 11,717.28 | 2.48% | | Russell 2000 | 1,771.24 | 1.45% | *Stock Market data as of the last closing bell. Data received directly from the reference indexes through ICE Data Services. Do you not understand any of these figures? Check out our explainer.
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Canadian Markets According to a report from Royal LePage, 24% of Canadians were actively searching for a new home in the past 12 months, but about two-thirds of them decided to wait due to the high-interest rate environment. - Of those who decided against buying a new home, 62% said they want to return to the market now that the Bank of Canada has indicated that it plans to keep interest rates steady, including 26% who want to start looking again this spring.
- These figures show that there could be significant pent-up demand in the Canadian real estate market, which could put upward pressure on house prices.
- The Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged in March after eight consecutive hikes took the benchmark interest rate from 0.25% to 4.50%.
*Canadian stock prices are as of the last close. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services
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European Markets European markets rose on Thursday after investors responded positively to a half-percentage point interest rate hike by the European Central Bank (ECB). - The ECB previously said it planned to raise rates by 50 basis points this month, but some investors thought that policymakers could change their plans due to the ongoing turmoil in the banking industry.
- The ECB said it is prepared to provide liquidity to any banks that required it.
- The Stoxx 600 gained nearly 1.3% on Thursday, led by a 1.2% increase in banking stocks.
| Euro STOXX 50 | 4,116.98 | 2.03% | | UK (FTSE 100) | 7,410.03 | 0.89% | | Germany (DAX) | 14,967.10 | 1.57% | | France (CAC 40) | 7,025.72 | 2.03% | *European stock prices are as of 7 am ET. Data received directly from the reference indexes through ICE Data Services.
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Asian Markets Asian markets rose early on Friday morning as concerns about the strength of the U.S. banking system began to subside. - Tech stocks saw strong gains. Baidu surged over 12%, Bilibili gained around 8%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index rose over 3%.
- New Zealand has banned TikTok from devices with access to its parliamentary network. This comes as other western countries are considering or have implemented similar restrictions. It's unknown if this could have economic consequences for New Zealand, which has strong trade links with China.
- Indonesia's central bank left interest rates unchanged at 6.5%.
| S&P Asia 50 | 4,497.41 | 0.10% | | Japan (Nikkei 225) | 27,193.70 | 0.68% | | South Korea (KOSPI) | 2,391.46 | 0.57% | | China (Hang Seng) | 19,457.55 | 1.32% | | India (SENSEX) | 57,634.84 | 0.14% | *Asian stock prices are as of 7 am ET. Data received directly from the reference indexes through ICE Data Services.
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Commodities Oil prices rose on Thursday after suffering significant losses earlier in the week. - Brent crude gained 1.4% on Thursday and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 1.1%.
- Both benchmarks opened down in Asia on Friday.
- WTI dropped to its lowest point since December 2021 before rising on Thursday.
| Oil (NYSEARCA:OIL) | 26.19 | 0.19% | | Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) | 178.57 | 0.20% | | Silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) | 19.92 | -0.40% | | Corn (NYSEARCA:CORN) | 24.70 | 0.49% | | Lumber (NASDAQ:WOOD) | 70.60 | 0.84% | *Commodity prices are as of 7 am ET. Data from MarketWatch. To understand why investors track the prices of these commodities, click here.
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Currencies The U.S. Dollar fell slightly on Thursday as investors are holding their positions ahead of the Fed's monetary policy decision next week. - The Euro was volatile. It fell early on Thursday but has been steadily rising since the ECB's rate hike, with that momentum continuing into Friday morning.
- Investors are currently pricing in an 80% chance of a 25 basis point interest rate hike by the Fed next week.
- The ECB is raising interest rates at the fastest pace in its history, while the Fed's tightening is the fastest in 40 years.
| UK(GBP) | £0.82 | 0.09% | | Europe (EURO) | €0.94 | 0.85% | | Canada (Canadian Dollar) | $1.37 | 0.01% | | Japan (Yen) | ¥133.21 | -0.88% | *Exchange rates as of 7 am ET. Data from Morningstar Financial Research. To understand why we track these currencies and the differences between them, click here.
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Cryptocurrency Bitcoin surpassed the $25,000 price point and continues to have momentum despite concerns about the health of the banking system. - Bitcoin temporarily surpassed $26,000 on Thursday, hitting its highest point in over nine months.
- Bitcoin will be heavily impacted by the Fed's monetary policy decision next week.
- Ether is currently at its highest price since the Merge in September.
| Bitcoin | $25,767.30 | 4.06% | | Ethereum | $1,712.85 | 3.53% | | Litecoin | $81.17 | 5.73% | | Bitcoin Cash | $128.51 | -2.37% | *Exchange rates as of 7 am ET. Data from Morningstar Financial Research. To understand why we track these currencies and the differences between them, click here.
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 |  | | |   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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Read Constructor's 4 Essential Ecommerce Strategies to Increase Profit and Succeed in a Challenging Economy | |
