Dow shoots up 301 points at end of winning 1st Q

 Stocks nudged up Friday as Wall Street ended a turbulent first quarter that had the Federal Reserve tightening rates and market panic over the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

The S&P 500 traded 0.9 percent higher, while the Nasdaq Composite inched up 1 percent, according to CNBC.

It said the Dow Jones Industrial average gained 301 points, or 0.9 percent.

“The market got a slight boost Friday after the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge showed a less-than-expected increase in prices,” CNBC said. It said the core of the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which excludes energy and food costs, rose 0.3 percent in February, less than the 0.4 percent expected by economists polled by Dow Jones.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are up 5.5 percent and 14.8 percent, respectively, for the first quarter through Thursday’s close, while the Dow was down slightly, the digital television network said.

As for March, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq increased by 2 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively, while the Dow inched up 0.6 percent through Thursday’s close.