NEW YORK | Fri Mar 30, 2012 4:16pm EDT (Reuters) - Stocks ended their strongest quarter in more than two years on a positive note on Friday, led by recently underperforming consumer staples and health care sectors.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI shot up 66.22 points, or 0.50 percent, to end unofficially at 13,212.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 5.19 points, or 0.37 percent, to finish unofficially at 1,408.47. But the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC dipped 3.79 points, or 0.12 percent, to close unofficially at 3,091.57.
For the quarter, the Dow rose 8.1 percent, the S&P 500 climbed 12 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 18.7 percent.