S&P 500 Posted Best First quarter since 1998

U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting its largest advance in the first three months of the year since the first quarter of 1998, after signs of progress on U.S.-China trade talks helped outweigh fears over a slowing global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 211.22 points, or 0.82%, to 25,928.68. The S&P 500 added 18.96 points, or 0.67%, to 2,834.40. The Nasdaq Composite gained 60.16 points, or 0.78%, to 7,729.32. For the month, the S&P was up 1.8%, the Dow was up less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq was up 2.6%. For the quarter, the S&P was up 14%, the Dow was up 12.4%, the Nasdaq was up 17.4%.

Oil posted strong gains Friday, as crude posted its strongest quarterly percentage rise in nearly a decade. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery rose 84 cents, or 1.4%, to end at $60.14 a barrel. Brent crude rose 48 cents, or 0.7%, to $67.58 a barrel.

Shares of Lyft Inc. soared in Friday trading after the ride-hailing company made its debut on the Nasdaq but pared those gains as the day wore on. Lyft’s stock (LYFT) closed up 8.7% at $78.29, giving the company a $22.39 billion market value. The company raised $2.34 billion through the offering and could raise up to $2.69 billion if underwriters execute all of the options granted to buy additional shares.