NEW YORK: US stocks recovered from early weakness to end Friday mostly in the black, though Apple, hit by new reports of labor abuses in its China suppliers, pulled the Nasdaq into a loss in the last half hour.
On the final trading day of the first quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 66.22 points (0.50 percent) at 13,212.04.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 5.19 (0.37 percent) to 1,408.47, while the tech-centric Nasdaq slipped 3.79 (0.12 percent) to 3,091.57.
The gain followed rises on European markets, which surged after eurozone finance ministers meeting in Copenhagen agreed to boost their firewall against the debt crisis to about 800 billion euros ($1.1 trillion).
Also helping sentiment was fresh data showing that US consumer spending picked up pace in February, surging 0.8 percent over January, more than expected -- though part of the reason was higher gasoline prices.
Walt Disney led the Dow blue chips higher with a 1.8 percent gain.
Insurer AIG added 3.0 percent, and rival Wellpoint gained 3.0 percent.
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion jumped 7.1 percent after announcing a management shakeup late Thursday when it turned in a fiscal fourth-quarter net loss.
RIM chief operating officer Thorsten Heins, in his job for just 10 weeks, was named president and chief executive. Heins insisted the company "has substantial strengths that can be further leveraged to improve our financial performance."
But in a conference call with analysts Heins did not rule out a sale of the company, saying he would be open to hearing purchase offers, and that the group would undertake a "comprehensive review of strategic opportunities."
But a 1.7 percent fall in the stocks of Apple, the Nasdaq's largest counter, offset the influence of RIM on the index, taking it below the break-even line by the final bell.
Apple shares were hit by worries that new measures to prevent labor abuses by its suppliers in China would raise costs and reduce its margins.
US bond prices fell. The interest on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 2.22 percent from 2.16 percent late Thursday, while the 30-year moved to 3.35 percent from 3.27 percent.
Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
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