Rocky quarter ends with bang

Technology stocks lift market, but indexes post first quarterly loss since ’15.

Technology companies powered U.S. stocks to solid gains Thursday, snapping the market’s two-day losing streak.

Banks, consumer-focused companies and industrial stocks also helped lift the market. Even so, the broad gains, which came on the last day of trading ahead of the Easter holiday weekend, weren’t enough to make up for the stock market’s first quarterly loss since 2015.

After two years of slow-and-steady growth the market started 2018 with a roar. Then the market plunged in early February, marking its first 10 percent drop in two years, as investors worried the Federal Reserve would accelerate the pace of interest rate increases. In the weeks since, the market has remained volatile and trading has frequently turned choppy, with concerns over trade disputes a key factor.

At the end of a quarter that featured many dramatic swings — the market had 23 days where it closed up or down 1 percent or more — the Dow Jones industrials were down 2.5 percent while the S&P 500 was down 1.2 percent.

Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said the market’s first-quarter performance has tempered expectations for the rest of the year after the strong start in January.

“Volatility has ramped up, inflationary pressures are more prevalent, interest rates are on the cusp of change, so that presents a higher level of uncertainty and higher investor angst,” Sandven said.

That angst was tempered on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 35.87 points, or 1.4 percent, to 2,640.87. The Dow gained 254.69 points, or 1.1 percent, to 24,103.11. The blue chip average was briefly up 465 points. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 16.40 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,529.43.

The Nasdaq added 114.22 points, or 1.6 percent, to 7,063.44 and closed the quarter with a gain of 2.3 percent.

The major indexes were headed higher from the start of trading Thursday as investors sized up several company earnings reports and new government data showing that spending by U.S. consumers rose 0.2 percent in February, while their incomes increased 0.4 percent.

Technology stocks, which were big decliners earlier in the week, powered much of the market’s climb Thursday.

Facebook was among the gainers, its shares adding 4.4 percent. The social media giant, which has taken a beating in recent days over privacy concerns, rose $6.76 percent, to $159.79.

The fallout from the heightened scrutiny on how social media portals use consumers’ personal data weighed on Acxiom shares. The marketing data firm’s stock tumbled 19 percent after it disclosed that Facebook would cease using third-party data providers like Acxiom over the next several months. Acxiom declined $5.34 to $22.71.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 56 cents to $64.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 74 cents to $70.27 per barrel in London.