Tranquil start to last trading day of stormy quarter

FIRST QUARTER:

Stocks tumbled in January and early February on concerns that weak growth in several major global economies would pull the U.S. economy into recession.

Stocks roared back in March as investors were encourage by positive economic news in the U.S. and central bank moves around the world to stimulate economic growth.

The federal government said more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, but the number of applications remains very low, a sign that hiring is solid.

Demand for gold has risen because of concerns about the health of the global economy, central bank policies, and more recently, because the U.S. dollar has started to weaken after years of gains.

IBM rose $4.02, or 2.7 percent, to $152.43 after the company said it will expand its business services division by buying Bluewolf Group, which provides cloud consulting and implementation services.

A month ago IBM agreed to buy Truven Health Analytics in a $2.6 billion deal intended to strengthen the health care capabilities of its Watson cognitive computing system.

The Federal Trade Commission is suing Endo and a group of competitors, saying Endo paid them to hold off on selling lower-cost versions of its pain drug Opana ER and its shingles pain treatment Lidoderm.

The FTC said the deals violated antitrust law and hurt consumers.

Drug company stocks have slid as federal regulators investigate the prices of costly drugs, which could affect drug companies' ability to keep raising prices.