S&P ends best quarter since 1988

The S&P 500 ended the best quarter in more than two decades on a high note Tuesday, rallying feverishly in the final hour of trading.

Neither cautious comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on the economy nor the U.S.’ top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, on the pandemic’s outlook could deter investors from buying.

Tech stocks led the charge, driving the Nasdaq up 1.9%. The S&P 500 gained one-and-a-half percent. The Dow added .9%.

For the quarter, the S&P gained nearly 19% and the Dow 18%, but the tech-stock laden Nasdaq climbed more than 30%.

Invesco global market strategist Brian Levitt:

“The trading action resembles the market leadership we saw coming into this COVID-19 pandemic and what we’ve seen throughout which is really that investors continue to favor the growth companies and the Nasdaq stocks outperforming.”

The Dow’s gains were capped by Boeing. The jet maker’s shares dropped after Norwegian Air canceled orders for 97 aircrafts.

Shares of Uber raced higher on reports saying the ride-hailing company is in talks to buy food-delivery app, Postmates.