{"id":60394,"date":"2026-03-31T17:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-led-surge-drives-nasdaq-up-3-8-as-markets-close-out-march-on-a-high-note\/60394\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T17:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:07:21","slug":"tech-led-surge-drives-nasdaq-up-3-8-as-markets-close-out-march-on-a-high-note","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/tech-led-surge-drives-nasdaq-up-3-8-as-markets-close-out-march-on-a-high-note\/60394\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech-Led Surge Drives Nasdaq Up 3.8% as Markets Close Out March on a High Note"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wall Street is witnessing a historic rally today, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, as major indexes surge to close out the first quarter with significant momentum. Investors are shrugging off recent volatility, fueled by a massive breakout in the technology sector and a sharp decline in the "fear gauge," the CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX<\/a>), which plummeted 17.51% to 25.25. The shift in sentiment suggests a renewed appetite for risk as the market prepares for a fresh batch of economic data and high-profile corporate earnings.<\/p>\n

Major Market Indexes Performance<\/h2>\n

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC<\/a>) is the day's standout performer, soaring 795.99 points, or 3.83%, to reach 21,590.63. This rally is being driven by heavyweights in the semiconductor and software sectors, as investors double down on artificial intelligence and growth prospects. The S&P 500<\/a> (^GSPC<\/a>) followed suit with a robust gain of 2.91%, climbing 184.80 points to 6,528.52. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (^DJI<\/a>) added 1,125.37 points, a 2.49% increase, to sit at 46,341.51.<\/p>\n

Small-cap stocks are also participating in the broad-based buying spree, with the Russell 2000 (^RUT<\/a>) rising 3.41% to 2,496.37. In the fixed-income market, the 30-year Treasury Yield (^TYX<\/a>) saw a slight retreat, falling 0.29% to 4.8910. This cooling of yields has provided the necessary breathing room for growth stocks to lead the market higher.<\/p>\n

Sector Highlights and Commodity Movements<\/h2>\n

The cannabis sector is today\u2019s top-performing industry, with the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (MSOS<\/a>) skyrocketing 13.13% amid renewed legislative optimism. Biotech stocks are also seeing intense interest, as the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI<\/a>) jumped 7.40%. In the metals space, Gold<\/a> Futures (GC=F<\/a>) surged 3.08% to $4,697.90, while the Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ<\/a>) rose 7.09%, indicating a strong hedge against potential currency fluctuations despite the equity rally.<\/p>\n

Conversely, the energy sector is facing headwinds. Crude Oil Futures (CL=F<\/a>) dropped 1.41% to $101.43 per barrel, dragging down the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE<\/a>) by 1.85% and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP<\/a>) by 2.30%.<\/p>\n

Corporate News and Market Movers<\/h2>\n

Individual stock news was dominated by a massive premarket<\/a> move from Apellis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (APLS<\/a>), which saw its stock price climb 136.4% to $40.40 on heavy volume. Centessa Pharmaceuticals plc (CNTA<\/a>) also posted impressive gains of 45.2%.<\/p>\n

In mega-cap tech, Nvidia (NVDA<\/a>), Apple (AAPL<\/a>), and Microsoft (MSFT<\/a>) are all trading significantly higher, contributing to the Nasdaq's outperformance. Tesla (TSLA<\/a>) and Alphabet (GOOGL<\/a>) are also seeing strong buy-side pressure as the quarter draws to a close.<\/p>\n

Earnings Spotlight and Upcoming Events<\/h2>\n

The earnings calendar is busy today. Before the opening bell, McCormick & Company Incorporated (MKC<\/a>) reported Q1 results, while FactSet Research Systems Inc. (FDS<\/a>) and TD SYNNEX Corporation (SNX<\/a>) also updated investors on their fiscal performance.<\/p>\n

As the market approaches the 4:00 PM ET close, all eyes are on the after-hours reports. Nike Inc. (NKE<\/a>) is the most anticipated release, with analysts looking for Q3 EPS of $0.29. Other notable companies reporting after the close include PVH Corp. (PVH<\/a>), luxury retailer RH (RH<\/a>), and cloud banking firm nCino Inc. (NCNO<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1st, the market will digest morning reports from ConAgra Brands Inc. (CAG<\/a>), MSC Industrial Direct Company Inc. (MSM<\/a>), and Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (CALM<\/a>). Investors will also be monitoring upcoming economic data for signals on the Federal Reserve's next move regarding interest rates and inflation management.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wall Street is witnessing a historic rally today, Tuesday, March 31, 2026, as major indexes surge to close out the […]<\/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":[94,6824],"tags":[4380,33,5345,95,225,633,1160,1876,3710,4223,4350],"class_list":["post-60394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-market-update","category-featured","tag-stock-market","tag-msft","tag-msos","tag-nasdaq","tag-aapl","tag-nvda","tag-nke","tag-sp-500","tag-federal-reserve","tag-inflation","tag-dow-jones"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60394","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=60394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60394\/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=60394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}