( The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest update from IBD and Bloomberg and will be moved to the top of the board.)
FYI: Shares of technology companies led major U.S. indexes higher, as investors warmed up again to riskier stocks again following the Federal Reserve’s indication that it will hold interest rates steady this year.
Apple, Micron Technology and other fast-growing stocks rose in a broad rally that continued to pick up momentum as the trading day progressed. The gains pulled the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 higher for the first time in three trading sessions, recouping their losses from earlier in the week.
The Dow industrials rose 216 points, or 0.84%, to 25962, while the S&P 500 added .1.08%. The sharp rise in tech stocks pushed the Nasdaq Composite up 1.42% in recent trading.
Still, financial stocks continued to struggle. Bank shares fell a second consecutive trading session and were headed for their worst week since December following the Fed’s move, as some investors assumed that slowing growth, along with lower rates, will crimp lenders’ profitability.
Inflation is among the most powerful forces in financial markets, but too much or too little can send the economy spiraling. Here's how it works, and how the Fed works to regulate it.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase fell 1.5%, while Bank of America shed 1.1%. Some regional banks were hit even harder, with Regions Financial sliding 2.2%.
European financial companies faced similar pressure, with the Stoxx Europe 600’s banking basket down 1% as yields on government bonds fell.
The yearlong trade spat between the U.S. and China is one of the factors economists have cited as playing a part in ebbing global growth. That said, Asian markets were mixed, despite President Trump’s comments that a trade deal with China isn’t imminent and the U.S. expects to keep tariffs on Chinese goods in place for a “substantial period of time,” even after a trade deal.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng benchmark fell 0.9%, although indexes in China, South Korea, and Taiwan notched gains of less than 1% despite Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday.
Ten of the eleven S&P 500 Sectors led by Technology finished in positive territory. The only losers were Financials.
Regards
Ted
MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-logs-more-than-200-point-gain-as-apple-leads-tech-stocks-higher-2019-03-21/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-pause-as-markets-parse-fed-outlook-11553161220Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-20/dollar-yields-fall-on-fed-asia-stocks-seen-down-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/nasdaq-sp-500-rally-five-month-high-apple-ready-to-run/Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/tech-powers-wall-streets-recovery-banks-reel-under-feds-dovish-stance-idUSKCN1R213SCNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/stock-market-equities-react-to-fed-meeting-jobless-numbers-in-focus.htmlU.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-up-as-oil-miners-pull-their-weight-weak-results-hit-mid-caps-idUKKCN1R20S8Europe:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/europe-markets-boe-in-focus-after-dovish-fed-stance.htmlAsia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-edge-higher-after-fed-puts-lid-on-rate-hikes-2019-03-21/printBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/us-bonds-jobless-numbers-in-focus.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/forex-market-federal-reserve-brexit-vote-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/oil-market-global-economic-slowdown-opec-supply-cuts-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/gold-market-federal-reserve-dollar-moves-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
Comments
Regards,
Ted
⇒ This post had about 12 views (most of which were by Ted himself) and NO comments. It has been artificially and deliberately "bumped" into the COMMENTS + section by the poster himself, without earning any legitimate qualifying comments.
He deliberately and cynically does this with spurious "Update" comments so as to force this post to your attention. He is well aware that this is in violation of MFO standard practice, but he believes that the rules for him are different than those for everyone else.