US shares jittery over inflation

Stocks rose, dropped and then recovered today – just as they did over the course of the first quarter, as Wall Street showed nervousness about rising inflation and dollar weakness but took solace in resilient consumer spending and slow but steady economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrials finished the day 5 points higher, and ended the quarter down about 108 points, or 0.87%, the blue chip index’s most feeble performance since the second quarter of 2005.