Stocks end first quarter on a mixed note

Wall Street has ended the first quarter on a mixed note, with tech stocks higher but blue chips faltering at the last minute.

The Dow Jones closed down 22.97, or 0.2%, at 10,403.94, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 18.61, or 1%, to 1,845.36.

The Standard & Poor's was up 2.81, or 0.3%, at 1,147.39. and the Russell 2000 index rose 0.61 to 506.46.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.2%, the Nasdaq lost 0.3%, while the S&P fell 0.1%.

The performance was an appropriate finish to a difficult three-month period for the markets.

Despite a rally in early March, which helped the Dow to 3.8% gain for the first quarter, the Nasdaq lost 5.4% and the S-and-P was barely changed.

The tech sector, which had been out of favour in recent sessions, got a lift from stocks including Microsoft, which climbed 87 cents to $60.31.

Blue chips were more mixed. Boeing gained 92 cents to $48.25 on word of a significant order from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners nearly 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume has been light because of the Passover and Easter holidays, coming to 1.12 billion shares, compared with 1.17 billion on Wednesday.