Stock market closes out a strong quarter
Wall Street finished up a solid quarter Friday with a day of listless trading that ended on a soft note.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index notched its best three-month stretch since the fourth quarter of 2015. The Nasdaq composite turned in its best quarter since the end of 2013.
The S&P 500, Nasdaq and the Dow Jones industrial average ended the day down slightly, with financial companies posting the biggest decline.
Trading was largely subdued, suggesting portfolio managers looking to bolster their end-ofquarter performance had made their moves earlier in the week, said Quincy Krosby, market strategist at Prudential Financial.
Investors weighed new economic data on consumer spending and inflation.
Consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent in February after a similarly sluggish 0.2 percent increase in January, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The small gains suggest that overall economic growth likely slowed in the first quarter.
Incomes, however, were up a solid 0.4 percent in February, offering hope for stronger consumer spending in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, an inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve increased 2.1 percent in February compared with a year ago. It is the sharpest 12-month rise since March 2012 and slightly above the Fed’s 2 percent inflation target.
The latest economic data followed positive reports on consumer confidence, housing and economic growth earlier this week, which have added to the market’s expectation for stronger first-quarter corporate earnings.
All told, the S&P 500 index ended the first three months of this year with a gain of 5.5 percent, the Nasdaq posted a gain of 9.8 percent, and the Dow climbed of 4.6 percent. The Russell 2000 ended the quarter with a gain of 2.1 percent, its fourth quarter of growth in a row.