S&P 500, Dow close strong quarter at record highs
In first quarter, S&P 500 gains 10%, Dow industrials rise 11.3%

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials finishing at record highs, as investors looked to get into equities as the first quarter came to a close.The S&P 500 recorded a quarterly advance of 10%, its best performance in a year, with the bull market in March beginning a fifth year, supported by easy monetary policy by the Federal Reserve and other central banks.

“Share prices are validating what has already come through in the form of corporate profits — they are at all-time highs,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

“It’s all the rage to talk about how it’s Fed-induced, and clearly the Fed has played a role in [the stock market’s] recovery, but we’re at 14 times forward earnings now, and that is not all that unreasonable,” said Luschini, referring to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

In mid-morning trade, the S&P 500 (SNC:SPX) surpassed its record close, set in October 2007, but its intraday high of 1,576.09, set on Oct. 11, 2007, remained elusive.
“A close over 1,565 today on the S&P 500 will surely get the media excited. It will probably get more people to move their S&P targets higher and the talk will be 1,600 is a ‘piece of cake.’ Since when was predicting the market over the short term like a walk in the park?” said Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus & Co.

After climbing to a high of 1,570.28, the S&P 500 added 6.34 points, or 0.4%, at 1,569.19.

“As investors really look at their holdings and evaluate the 10% gains for this quarter, that is a nice return,” said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

So-called ‘window dressing,’ where fund managers want their end-of-quarter balance sheets to reflect participation in gaining stocks, is a likely factor in Thursday’s session, according to Silverblatt. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-st...2013-03-28