US STOCKS-S&P 500 ends higher, indexes post gains for quarter

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* Walgreens rises after forecast raise
* U.S. private payrolls increase in March

(Updates to close)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
March 31 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed higher on Wednesday,
boosted by gains in technology shares, and the three major Wall
Street indexes registered their fourth straight quarterly rise.
Investors awaited details of President Joe Biden's massive
infrastructure plan. The $3 trillion-$4 trillion package will
target traditional projects like roads and bridges alongside
investments in the electric vehicle market. The S&P 500 benchmark index came close to hitting 4,000 for
the first time as bets on a strong economic rebound helped the
market ride out a quarter that invluded a retail trading frenzy,
inflation worries, a spike in Treasury yields and a U.S. hedge
fund going bust.
The S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT led sector gains,
while energy .SPNY lagged.
"The trend we're seeing today is investors rotating back
into growth-oriented names that have gotten a little bit beaten
up over the past few weeks or so due to underlying rotation
toward the economic reopening stocks," said Michael Sheldon,
chief investment officer at RDM Financial Group at Hightower.
Some cyclical sectors could also be taking a breather from
their rise because of recent strength in the dollar, he said.
"That's probably had some impact on commodity prices,
industrial stocks and possibly financials as well."
For the quarter, the Nasdaq underperformed the other two
major indexes as investors swapped growth-oriented stocks with
underpriced shares deemed to benefit most from a full economic
reopening. High-flying tech names have been hit by a surge in
U.S. 10-year bond yields US10YT=RR .
Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
6.09 points, or 0.02%, to 33,060.87, the S&P 500 .SPX gained
22.58 points, or 0.57%, to 3,981.13 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC added 220.46 points, or 1.69%, to 13,265.85.
The size and scale of Biden's proposal, as well as the
question of how it would be paid for is likely to set the stage
for the next partisan clash in Congress.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose after brokerage UBS upgraded the
stock to "buy" on stable long-term demand for iPhones with
better authorized service providers. Walgreens Boots Alliance advanced after raising its 2021
profit forecast on higher sales at its U.S. retail pharmacy
stores. U.S. private employers boosted hiring in March as more
Americans got vaccinated against COVID-19. The payroll report
was in line with the recent signs of improvement in the labor
market and comes ahead of a more comprehensive monthly jobs
report on Friday.