US markets end higher on Tuesday

20 Mar 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended higher on Tuesday after a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of February.  The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 10.7 percent to an annual rate of 1.521 million in February after plunging by 12.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.374 million in January. Street had expected housing starts to surge by 7.1 percent to a rate of 1.425 million from the 1.331 million originally reported for the previous month. The report also said building permits shot up by 1.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.518 million in February after dipping by 0.3 percent to a revised rate of 1.489 million in January. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to jump by 1.7 percent to a rate of 1.495 million from the 1.470 million originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, traders continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated monetary policy announcement on Wednesday. While the Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged, the central bank's accompanying statement and economic projections could have a significant impact on the outlook for rates. On the sectoral front, oil service stocks moved significantly higher over the course of the session, driving the Philadelphia Oil Service Index up by 2.2 percent to its best intraday level in well over four months. The rally by oil service stocks came amid an increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for April delivery climbing $0.75 to $83.47 barrel. The substantial rebound by housing starts also contributed to considerable strength among housing stocks, as reflected by the 1.7 percent gain posted by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.

Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 320.33 points or 0.83 percent to 39,110.76, Nasdaq surged 63.34 points or 0.39 percent to 16,166.79 and S&P 500 was up by 29.09 points or 0.56 percent to 5,178.51.


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