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Your Daily Market Brief
March 17, 2026
 
   
  Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities  
 
 
On Monday, U.S. stocks rebounded, with the S&P 500 advancing 67 points (+1.01%) to 6,699, and the Nasdaq 100 up 274 points (+1.13%) to 24,655.

The Dow Jones closed 387 points higher (+0.83%) at 46,946.

Oil prices cooled down as the U.S. is making efforts to form a coalition of countries to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. WTI crude futures ran up to levels above 102 dollars a barrel at the open in early Asian hours on Monday, but retreated to settle at 93.50 dollars a barrel, down 5.21 dollars or 5.28% on day.

Nvidia (NVDA) rose 1.65%. CEO Jensen Huang said in the company's 2026 GPU Technology Conference (GTC) that purchase orders for its artificial-intelligence chips could reach one trillion dollars through 2027.

Meta (META) gained 2.24% amid reports that the company is planning to lay off over 20% of its workforce.

Other tech giants also closed higher, with Apple (AAPL) rising 1.08%, Microsoft (MSFT) up 1.11%, and Alphabet (GOOGL) up 1.09%.

Micron (MU) rose 3.68%. The company announced plans to build a second semiconductor manufacturing facility in Taiwan.

Data-storage stocks kept outperforming the market, with Sandisk (SNDK) jumping 6.35%, Seagate Technology (STX) up 3.93%, and Western Digital (WDC) up 5.11%.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell 6.3 basis points to 4.220%, halting a four-session rally.

European stocks also closed higher, with the DAX 40 rising 0.50%, the CAC 40 up 0.31%, and the FTSE 100 up 0.55%.

Gold declined 12 dollars to 5,006 dollars an ounce.
 
 
  Market Wrap: Forex  
 
 
The U.S. dollar softened against other major currencies, with the dollar index dropping to 99.78.

U.S. data showed that industrial production edged up 0.2% month on month in February (vs +0.3% expected, +0.7% in January).

EUR/USD gained 91 pips to 1.1507.

USD/JPY fell 61 pips to 159.10.

GBP/USD advanced 97 pips to 1.3319.

AUD/USD jumped 91 pips (+1.30%) to 0.7071. Later today, Australia’s central bank is expected to raise its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 4.10%.

USD/CHF slipped 38 pips to 0.7874.

USD/CAD declined 39 pips to 1.3679. Canada’s inflation rate eased to 1.8% year on year in February (vs 2.1% expected, 2.3% in January).

Bitcoin continued to show upward momentum, gaining a further 2% to 74,500 dollars.
 
 
  Morning Trading  
 
 
In Asian trading hours, AUD/USD was steady at 0.7070. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 4.10% as expected.

Meanwhile, EUR/USD and GBP/USD were down slightly, at 1.1500 and 1.3310 respectively.

USD/JPY rebounded to 159.33.

Gold bounced 5,031 dollars.

Bitcoin was steady at 74,686 dollars.
 
 
  Expected Today  
 
 
Germany's ZEW economic sentiment index is expected to drop to 36.0 in March.

In the U.S., pending home sales are estimated to be down 0.7% month-on-month in February.
 
 
 
 
Web TV from Trading Central
 
 
 
USD/JPY Intraday: Range-bound, Bullish Above 159.05
 
USD/JPY intraday remains bullish as long as the key support at 159.05 holds.
 
WATCH NOW
 
 
     
 
 

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