US stocks rally, end 4-week losing streak

US indices rose on the third Friday of March despite the volatility caused by the expiry of options contracts for securities worth trillions of dollars, during the "quadruple witching" event, which typically occurs four times a year.

At the end of the week's trading, the Dow Jones inched up by 0.1% (32 points) to 41,985 points, after dropping to 41,433 points. The industrial index ended its two-week losing streak, hitting 1.2% this week.

Also, the S&P 500 went up by 0.1%, or four points, to 5,667 points, ending the US market index's four-week run of losses, with gains of 0.5% this week.

The Nasdaq Composite added 0.5% (92 points) to close at 17,784 points, marking a 0.15% gain from the beginning of the week and ending a four-week losing streak.

The Stoxx Europe 600 fell by 0.6% to 549.6 points, but the European index rose by 0.55% this week.

The UK's FTSE 100 dropped by 0.65% to 8,646 points, while France's CAC 40 sank by the same percentage to 8,042 points. Meanwhile, Germany's DAX lost 0.45% to close at 22,891 points.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plummeted by 0.2% to 37,677 points, while the broader Topix index grew by 0.3% to 2,804 points. However, both indices posted weekly gains of 1.7% and 3.25%, respectively.

Prices of Brent crude futures for May delivery rose by 0.2%, or 16 cents, to $72.16 per barrel, recording weekly gains of 2.25%.

Meanwhile, US WTI (Nymex) crude futures for May delivery, the most actively traded contract, increased by 0.3%, or 21 cents, to $68.28 per barrel, achieving weekly gains of over 2%.

As for gold, futures for April delivery fell by 0.75%, or $22.4, to $3,021.40 per ounce, but the yellow metal posted gains of 0.7% since the beginning of the week.