In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin remained around the $43,000 level helped by the lift in stocks. Also, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, in his annual shareholder's letter, said the Russia-Ukraine conflict could boost demand for digital currencies.
Russia reopened its stock market for restricted and limited trading on Thursday nearly one month after shares plunged and the exchange was shut down following the invasion of Ukraine. It closed with gains of 4.3%. In economic data, durable goods, or new orders for manufactured big-ticket items, fell a seasonally adjusted 2.2% month-over-month in February, reversing a larger-than-expected increase of 1.6% the prior month. If you factor out the transportation component, orders also dropped 0.