The first quarter of 2016 started with a whimper as equities suffered several weeks of losses. However, as March came to a close, several major indexes recovered enough to finish the quarter in positive territory. The Dow picked up 260 points to close 1.49% ahead of its fourth-quarter closing value. The S&P 500 also finished the first quarter slightly better than it ended the previous quarter. However, the NASDAQ, Russell 2000, and MSCI World Ex US Index each ended the quarter behind their respective December 2015 closing values. March proved to be a good month for equities, as each of the indexes listed here yielded positive returns.
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