The U.S. stock market is experiencing a robust broad-based rally during midday trading this Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. Investors are shaking off recent volatility, evidenced by a significant retreat in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), which has plummeted nearly 9.5% to 27.71. This "risk-on" sentiment is being spearheaded by the technology sector, pushing the major indexes toward substantial daily gains as the first quarter of the year draws to a close.<\/p>\n
As of midday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC<\/a>) is the clear standout, surging 388.86 points, or 1.87%, to reach 21,183.50. This move reflects a renewed appetite for growth stocks and semiconductor leaders. The S&P 500<\/a> (^GSPC<\/a>) is also seeing impressive gains, rising 89.23 points, or 1.41%, to sit at 6,432.95. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (^DJI<\/a>) has climbed 486.18 points, or 1.08%, currently trading at 45,702.32.<\/p>\n Small-cap stocks are not being left behind in this rally. The Russell 2000 (^RUT<\/a>) is up 1.61%, signaling that the market breadth is healthy and not solely dependent on mega-cap tech. In the fixed-income market, the 30-Year Treasury Yield (^TYX<\/a>) remains relatively flat at 4.906%, suggesting that the equity rally is being driven more by corporate optimism than by shifts in interest rate expectations.<\/p>\n From a sector perspective, the market is seeing explosive moves in speculative and growth-oriented areas. The Cannabis ETF (MSOS<\/a>) is the day's top performer, gaining 7.14% amid renewed legislative optimism. Close behind is the Biotech sector, with the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI<\/a>) rising 5.51%. Despite the general "risk-on" mood, precious metals are also showing strength; Gold<\/a> Futures (GC=F<\/a>) have jumped 1.90% to $4,643.90, and the Silver<\/a> ETF (SLV<\/a>) is up over 5%.<\/p>\n Conversely, defensive sectors are lagging. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU<\/a>) is the day's biggest laggard, dropping 0.87%, followed by Consumer Staples (XLP<\/a>), which is down 0.66%. This rotation out of "safe-haven" sectors and into growth underscores the aggressive bullish tone of today's session.<\/p>\n The headline story in individual equities today is Apellis Pharmaceuticals (APLS<\/a>), which has seen its stock price skyrocket by a staggering 136.4% in early and midday trading. This massive move follows positive clinical developments that have caught the attention of the entire healthcare sector. Similarly, Centessa Pharmaceuticals (CNTA<\/a>) is enjoying a 45.2% gain.<\/p>\n In the premarket<\/a> and early session, Classover Holdings (KIDZ<\/a>) surged 76.6%, while on the downside, PepGen (PEPG<\/a>) faced a sharp sell-off, losing 52.5% of its value.<\/p>\n Large-cap earnings are also dictating price action. Earlier today, McCormick & Company (MKC<\/a>) and FactSet Research Systems (FDS<\/a>) reported their quarterly results. McCormick is navigating a complex consumer environment, while FactSet continues to benefit from high demand for financial data. TD SYNNEX (SNX<\/a>) also released its Q1 2026 results before the opening bell.<\/p>\n The market\u2019s attention will shift significantly after the closing bell today when Nike (NKE<\/a>) is scheduled to release its Q3 2026 earnings. Analysts are looking for an EPS of $0.29, and the results will be viewed as a critical barometer for global consumer discretionary spending. Other notable companies reporting after hours include PVH Corp (PVH<\/a>) and RH (RH<\/a>).<\/p>\n Looking ahead to tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1st, investors will receive updates from ConAgra Brands (CAG<\/a>) and Cal-Maine Foods (CALM<\/a>) before the market opens. These reports will provide further clarity on food inflation and the health of the American consumer as we head into the second quarter. With the S&P Futures (ES=F<\/a>) currently up 1.30%, the stage is set for a potentially historic finish to the month if the current momentum holds through the afternoon session.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The U.S. stock market is experiencing a robust broad-based rally during midday trading this Tuesday, March 31st, 2026. Investors are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6824,94],"tags":[7080,95,18203,1160,1876,3710,3730,4223,4345,4380,5001],"class_list":["post-60382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-market-update","tag-nike","tag-nasdaq","tag-apls","tag-nke","tag-sp-500","tag-federal-reserve","tag-vix","tag-inflation","tag-tech-stocks","tag-stock-market","tag-earnings-season"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Sector Highlights: Cannabis and Biotech Lead the Charge<\/h2>\n
Corporate News and Major Movers<\/h2>\n
Upcoming Events to Watch<\/h2>\n