S&P 500 Posts Strongest First Quarter In Five Years

The S&P 500 index concluded the week with slight gains, achieving its strongest first quarter in five years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 47.29 points (0.12%) to close at 39,807.37, while the S&P 500 index gained 5.86 points (0.11%) to end at 5,254.3512. Notably, the blue-chip Dow Jones is now less than 1% away from breaching the 40,000 level for the first time1. The market rally has been fueled by optimism over artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks and expectations that the US Federal Reserve will begin to cut interest rates this year1. Overall, each of the three main US market indices recorded solid quarterly gains, with the S&P 500 leading the way with a climb of 10.16%