US STOCKS-Tech lifts S&P 500, Nasdaq; indexes post gains for quarter

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* Walgreens rises after forecast raise
* U.S. private payrolls increase in March
* Indexes: Dow down 0.3%, S&P 500 up 0.4%, Nasdaq up 1.5%

(New throughout, updates with official close, volume)
By Caroline Valetkevitch
March 31 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose on
Wednesday, boosted by gains in technology shares, and the three
major Wall Street indexes registered their fourth straight
quarterly rise as investors looked forward to details of
President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure plan.
Bets on a strong economic rebound supported Wall Street
during the quarter even as investors got jittery about a retail
trading frenzy, a spike in Treasury yields and a U.S. hedge fund
going bust.
On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 came close to hitting
4,000 for the first time. The S&P 500 technology index .SPLRCT
led sector gains, while the energy sector .SPNY fell and was
the weakest sector on the day.
"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.
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 .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 85.41 points,
or 0.26%, to 32,981.55, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 14.34 points,
or 0.36%, to 3,972.89 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added
201.48 points, or 1.54%, to 13,246.87.
For the quarter, the Dow gained about 8%, the S&P 500 rose
6% and the Nasdaq increased 3%. For the month, the Dow added
about 7%, the S&P 500 rose 4% and the Nasdaq gained just 0.4%.
Biden's $3 trillion-$4 trillion infrastructure package will
target traditional projects like roads and bridges alongside
investments in the electric vehicle market. The size and scale of the proposal, as well as how to pay
for it, should set the stage for the next partisan clash in
Congress.
Apple Inc AAPL.O rose 1.9% after brokerage UBS upgraded
the stock to "buy" on stable long-term demand for iPhones with
better authorized service providers. Walgreens Boots Alliance WAG.O advanced 3.6% after raising
its 2021 profit forecast on higher sales at its U.S. retail
pharmacy stores. On the economic front, 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. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a
1.36-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.79-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 28 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 68 new highs and 18 new lows.