Dow Posts Best Q1 Since 1998 : 14,578.54 Up 52.38(0.36%)

Record-Smashing Quarter: S&P 500 Ends Above 2007’s Record Close, Dow Posts Best Q1 Since 1998

 

By: JeeYeon Park CNBC.com Writer

                

Stocks closed out the first quarter on a high note with the S&P 500 piercing through levels last seen in 2007 to end at a record high near 1,570 and the Dow logging its strongest quarter in 15 years.
 
The S&P finally surpassed its closing high level of 1,565.15 shortly after the market open after flirting with the milestone for weeks, recovering all its losses from the financial crisis. The next milestone for the index is its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, set on October 11, 2007.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared an impressive 11.25 percent in the first three months of the year to log its best first-quarter performance since 1998. Interestingly, the blue-chip index has never finished a year in negative territory when the first quarter is up at least 8 percent.

Hewlett-Packard was the biggest gainer on the Dow for the quarter, skyrocketing more than 67 percent. Caterpillar and Alcoa were the only two blue-chip stocks to finish in the red.

The S&P 500 surged 10.03 percent, while the Nasdaq jumped 8.21 percent for the quarter, logging their fifth-straight monthly gains. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, ended below 13, plunging approximately 30 percent for the quarter.