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Pending home sales in the U.S. surged by much more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday. NAR said its pending home sales index spiked by 3.4 percent to 78.2 in March after jumping by 1.6 percent to 75.6 in February. Economists had expected pending home sales to rise by just 0.3 percent.

Pending home sales in the U.S. surged by much more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday.

A report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday showed the U.S. economy grew by much less than expected in the first quarter of 2024. The Commerce Department said gross domestic product increased by 1.6 percent in the first quarter after surging by 3.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Economists had expected GDP to jump by 2.5 percent.

The Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 20th. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 207,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 212,000. The dip surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to inch up to 214,000.

he U.S. equity markets saw a halt in their two-day rally, primarily pulled down by disappointing earnings from Meta Platforms. As a result, both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were left nearly unchanged, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower.

U.S. markets experienced significant gains, with both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 closing up over 1% on impending earnings reports from tech giants.

The market spotlight shifts to the U.S. equity market, particularly with the impending release of earnings reports from tech giants .

As we head into the second quarter earnings report season, the U.S. equity market is poised to capture significant attention. Recent geopolitical events, particularly the unconfirmed reports of an explosion in Iran's third-largest city last Friday, have injected volatility into commodities prices and bolstered the appeal of safe-haven assets like the U.S. dollar and Japanese Yen.