04:52 PM EDT, 03/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose this week with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite eking out gains as investors weighed the shifts in year-end interest rate expectations amid tariff and geopolitical tumult.

* The S&P 500 closed at 5,667.56 on Friday versus 5,638.94 a week earlier. The Nasdaq Composite rose to 17,784.05 from 17,754.09 a week prior, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced to 41,985.35 from 41,488.19.

* The Federal Reserve held interest rates as expected at 4.25% to 4.5%, downgraded its outlook for economic growth and increased its inflation projection. The CME FedWatch Tool showed the highest probability is for three rate cuts by year-end. The likelihood of that rose to 34% on Friday compared with 20% a month earlier. "The Fed's easing bias remains in place," Morgan Stanley economists said in a note.

* The European Union delayed the first round of tariffs on goods from the US to allow time for a deal with American officials, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing an EU spokesperson. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development cut its outlook for 2025 global economic growth to 3.1% from 3.3% with US policies seen hampering trade and further slowing China's economy.

* A closely monitored Bank of America survey of global fund managers, with 171 participants polled in March, showed a 40-point drop in allocations to US equities from a month earlier. The slump is reportedly a record decline that strategists at the investment bank called a "bull crash."

* Israel's decision to break a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and US attacks on Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia heightened concerns over Persian Gulf oil supplies.

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