Stocks and gold rise as oil falls ahead of the NATO meeting

US stocks Oil prices rose and fell Thursday. Investors are watching to see the outcome of the NATO Summit, the Summit of European Leaders, and the latest on Russia and Ukraine. President Biden will deliver a speech at 3 p.m. ET.

Russia invades Ukraine: live updates

All three major US averages rose with the Nasdaq Composite Index advancing the early lead.

tape protection the last they change they change %
Me: DJI Dow Jones averages 34527.38 +168.88 + 0.49%
SP500 Standard & Poor’s 500 4475.53 +19.29 + 0.43%
I: COMP Nasdaq Composite Index 13932.142711 +9.54 + 0.07%

Bond yields remained high with the 10-year Treasury yield at 2.36%.

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US crude settled at around $114 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global benchmark, was hovering above $120 a barrel. Gold extended its rally to $1,960 an ounce.

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USO United States Petroleum Fund LP 81.95 +3.39 + 4.32%
BNO United STS BRENT OIL FD LP UNIT 33.48 +1.65 + 5.18%
GLD SPDR Gold Stock Confidence – EUR ACC 181.72 +2.36 + 1.32%

Both contracts posted big gains this week, with West Texas Intermediate crude up more than $10 a barrel, or 10%. Brent crude futures are up more than $14 a barrel, or 13%, since Monday.

A Belgian delegation welcomes US President Joe Biden, who has arrived for an extraordinary NATO summit to discuss ongoing deterrence and defense efforts in response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 23, 2022. (Reuters/Evelyn Hochstein/Reuters Photo)

In stocks, Uber shares jumped after announcing a partnership with Curb, the North American taxi app. The joint venture will begin in New York City.

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Uber Uber technology company 34.63 +1.57 + 4.76%

Guy Peterson, Uber’s director of business development, said in the announcement. “We look forward to expanding together as we launch integration into other major cities across the country.”

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DRI Darden Restaurants Company 130.94 -1.06 -0.80%

Darden Restaurants, the parent company of Olive Garden and Red Lobster, gave a muted look after reporting weaker-than-expected quarterly results.

“The Omicron variable significantly impacted guest demand, restaurant staff, and operating expenses in January,” CEO Jin Lee said in the earnings statement.

Elsewhere, Nikola shares jumped on confirmation that truck production will begin in College Arizona.

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NKLA Nikola Corporation. 9.91 +0.77 + 8.42%

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin remained around the $42,000 level. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in his annual letter to shareholders that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could boost demand for cryptocurrencies.

BLACKROCK CEO Larry Fink on Russian-Ukrainian Coins and Cryptocurrencies

Russia reopened its stock market to restricted and limited trading on Thursday, nearly one month after stocks plunged and the stock market closed in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. It closed with a gain of 6.5%.

A plaque bearing the logo is displayed outside the office of the Moscow Stock Exchange in the capital, Moscow, Russia on March 24, 2022. (Reuters/Maxim Shemetov/Reuters Photo)

In economic data, durable goods or new orders for big-ticket manufactured goods fell 2.2% month over month in February, reversing a larger-than-expected 1.6% increase in the previous month. If you take the transportation component into account, orders are also down 0.3% compared to January’s 0.7% jump.

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Also, the Labor Department pulled out its tally of new claims for unemployment benefits last week which fell to 187,000 from 214,000 the previous week. Continuing claims, which track the total number of unemployed workers collecting benefits, are expected to drop to 1.35 million, another 52-year low.

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Ken Martin and The Associated Press of FOX Business contributed to this report.

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