By Chris Matthews and William Watts, MarketWatch

Investors continue to digest implications of Fed pause

U.S. stocks recovered from premarket weakness to trade higher Thursday morning, a day after equities ended mostly lower in the wake of a Federal Reserve meeting that saw policy makers signal they were unlikely to raise interest rates this year amid worries over slowing economic growth.

What are indexes doing?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 156 points, or 0.6%, to 25,902, after opening lower, while the S&P 500 index also gained altitude at 2,842, rising 18 points, or 0.6%, following an open slump of 6 points. The Nasdaq Composite , meanwhile, rose 71 points, or 0.9%, to reach 7,800.

What's driving the market?

Tech shares led stocks higher, with the sector up 1.7%.

Stocks saw a choppy session Wednesday, weakening ahead of the Fed announcement, then rallying after the central bank signaled it would leave rates on hold for the rest of 2019 versus its previous forecast for two hikes this year.

Opinion:Federal Reserve policy makes this dividend-stock strategy even more important (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/federal-reserve-policy-makes-this-dividend-stock-strategy-even-more-important-2019-03-20)

Equity benchmarks ended Wednesday mostly lower, however, with bank stocks feeling pressure as Treasury yields fell on the Fed's dovish outlook. Lower rates, and a flatter yield curve, are seen as a negative for lenders. Some analysts also tied weakness to concerns about the outlook for U.S. economic growth after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged worries about global growth.

The financial sector remained under pressure Thursday, off around 0.4%.

Contributing to Wednesday's volatility were comments by President Donald Trump, who said tariffs on Chinese goods could remain in place "for a substantial period of time," even after a trade deal is reached to promote enforcement of the agreement.

Meanwhile, China's commerce ministry confirmed Thursday (https://www.wsj.com/articles/tariffs-on-chinese-goods-to-remain-in-place-for-period-of-time-trump-says-11553101862) that U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will visit China on March 28-29 for more discussion on trade, while Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington early next month to continue the negotiations.

Treasury yields continued to decline early Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down 2.3 basis points at 2.517%, narrowing the spread with the 3-month yield to less than 6 basis points.

Read:The most accurate recession indicator is flashing red after the Fed's 'dovish double-down' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-feds-dovish-double-down-has-taken-the-most-accurate-recession-indicator-closer-to-flashing-red-2019-03-20) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-feds-dovish-double-down-has-taken-the-most-accurate-recession-indicator-closer-to-flashing-red-2019-03-20)

Which stocks are in focus?

Biotechnology firm Biogen Inc. (BIIB) said Thursday that it decided to discontinue late-stage trials (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/biogen-stock-plummets-28-after-halting-alzheimers-trials-2019-03-21) of a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Shares tumbled more than 28% Thursday morning.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc. (MU) rose 9.4% early Thursday, even after the memory-chip company reported below-consensus earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/micron-stock-wobbles-as-lowered-street-expectations-topped-2019-03-20) for the fiscal second quarter on Wednesday evening. The stock has lost nearly 2% of its value over the past six months, but investors have bid up the stock more than 38% year-to-date, in anticipation of a recovery in the chip sector in the second half of 2019.

Apple Inc.(AAPL) shares were up 3.6% after Needham upgraded the stock to strong buy (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apples-stock-rallies-after-needham-upgrade-to-strong-buy-bucking-broader-market-weakness-2019-03-21), putting the iPhone maker on track to move past Microsoft Corp.(MSFT) retake its position as the most valuable U.S. company by market capitalization (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/apple-on-track-to-surpass-microsoft-as-most-valuable-company-by-market-cap-2019-03-21).

Shares of jeans-maker Levi Strauss & Co. opened at $22.22 on the New York Stock Exchange, 31% above its initial-public-offering price of $17. The stock traded as high as $22.96 shortly after it made its debut.

Read:Levi Strauss & Co. IPO: 5 things to know about the iconic jeans company (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-things-to-know-about-levi-strauss-co-before-it-goes-public-2019-02-15)

Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) stock rose 6.4% Thursday, after the Olive Garden parent company reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/olive-garden-parent-darden-restaurants-stock-surges-after-profit-and-sales-beat-raised-guidance-2019-03-21) that beat expectations, and raised its full-year guidance.

Shares of Conagra Brands Inc. (CAG) rose 10.6%, after the food company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/conagra-shares-climb-premarket-after-earnings-beat-2019-03-21) that beat Wall Street estimates.

Lands' End Inc. (LE) reported a 59% decline in profits for its most recent quarter Thursday morning, while the company's sales for the period came in below analysts forecasts. Shares in the clothing company fell 6% Thursday morning.

What are analysts saying?

"Economists will now debate over the coming months whether this dovish commitment is a policy mistake,' wrote Edward Moya, market analyst with Oanada. "The Fed's concern for the economy likely suggests they will be overly cautious reversing course back to a tightening bias even if we see a strong second quarter of data."

"U.S. data this morning was strong and will like fuel the fire that is questioning the Fed's dovish commitment," he added. "Jobless claims came in better than expected and the Philadelphia Fed business outlook rebounded sharply."

What's on the economic calendar?

The Labor Department said the number of laid-off workers who applied for first-time unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 in the week ended March 16 to 221,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-fall-9000-to-221000-as-layoffs-show-no-sign-of-rising-2019-03-21) -- a one-month low. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast claims to total 225,000.

The Philadelphia Fed's business activity index rebounded in March (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/philly-fed-manufacturing-index-rebounds-in-march-2019-03-21) to a seasonally adjusted reading of 13.7 from -4.1 the previous month. A reading above zero indicates improving conditions. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a reading of 3.

The Conference Board's leading economic index rose 0.2% in February, its first uptick since September (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/economy-expands-in-february-at-fastest-pace-in-five-months-leading-indicators-show-2019-03-21).

How are other markets trading?

Asian stocks closed mostly higher Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-edge-higher-after-fed-puts-lid-on-rate-hikes-2019-03-21), with Japan's Nikkei 225 adding 0.2% and China's Shanghai Composite Index rising 0.4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index, however, fell 0.9%.

European markets traded mostly lower Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-markets-mixed-as-investors-digest-dovish-fed-2019-03-21), with the Stoxx Europe 600 falling 0.5%.

Crude-oil prices were falling, down 0.2%. The price of gold , meanwhile, rallied more than 1% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-extends-rally-seen-on-dovish-fed-even-as-dollar-stabilizes-2019-03-21), while the U.S. dollar was also on the rise (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-pares-post-fed-losses-2019-03-21).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 21, 2019 11:28 ET (15:28 GMT)

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