Stocks: An Upward March
Major indexes posted their best monthly performance in six years, as Wall Street closed the books on a tumultuous first quarter
Investing

U.S. stocks finished solidly higher Tuesday in March's final session, giving the market its best monthly performance in six years. Banks and tech issues led the rally, helping to pare losses suffered by the market earlier in the quarter.
Tuesday's gains came as money managers squared positions on the last trading day of March and the first quarter. The 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average finished higher by 86.90 points, or 1.16%, at 7,608.92.
The broad S&P 500 index gained 10.22 points, or 1.30%, to 797.75.
The Nasdaq composite index added 26.79 points, or 1.78%, to 1,528.59.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 23 stocks finished higher in price for every seven that declined. Breadth on the Nasdaq was 19-9 positive.
Treasury prices rose in a rebound from an early slide. The dollar index was lower. Gold futures were higher. Energy futures were mixed.
Wall Street closed the books on a tumultuous quarter Tuesday. The swings in equities were so great that the quarter "contained its own bear market and bull market", according to an Associated Press report.
The month of March featured gains of 7.7% for the Dow, 8.5% for the S&P 500, and 10.9% for the Nasdaq. But the first quarter numbers were not quite so pleasing, with losses of 13.3% for the Dow, 11.7% for the S&P 500 and 3.1% for the Nasdaq.
The blue-chip Dow and S&P indexes remain over 40% below their record closing levels reached in October, 2007.
Traders Tuesday weighed reports that the S&P Case-Shiller 10-and 20-city home price indexes fell in January, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rose to 26.0 in March from 25.3 in February, and the March Chicago purchasing managers' index fell to 31.4 from 34.2. The market was bracing for disagreements among the world's economic powers over stimulus and regulatory measures at the G20 meeting in London later this week.
Fritz Henderson, the new CEO of General Motors Corp. (GM) said Tuesday that more of the automaker's plants could close as part of GM's effort to meet new, tougher requirements for government aid. In his first news conference as CEO, Henderson said he expects the company would "need to take further measures" in terms of plant closures. That's beyond the five plants the company said it would shutter when it submitted a restructuring plan to the government last month.
GM also is likely to offer another buyout program to workers as it looks to cut labor costs, Henderson said.
"We continue to see any GM turnaround plan including the significant dilution of existing shareholders' positions, as other stakeholders are likely to accept equity in exchange for obligations due to them," wrote S&P equity analysts in a note Tuesday.
GM shares closed lower by 76 cents to 1.94 Tuesday.
Homebuilder Lennar Corp. (LEN) reported a first-quarter loss of 98 cents per share, vs. a 56 cents loss one year earlier, on a 45% decline in revenue from home sales. Wall Street was looking for loss of about 64 cents. Says revenues were lower primarily due to a 38% decrease in the number of home deliveries and a 12% decrease in the average sales price of homes delivered in 2009.
Lennar shares were down 1.20 to 7.51.