The positive tone helped stocks extend the prior session’s advance but broad-based gains faded into the close. The question is whether recovery jitters have been fully discounted by the market. Qualcomm said that it was hiking its dividend by 12% and initiating a new stock buyback program. Investors welcomed the news, propelling the stock up 6.7%. Ford Motor said February sales jumped 43% and outpaced those of General Motors for the first time in 10 years.

Advancing Sectors: Materials (+1.0%), Energy (+0.8%), Utilities (+0.5%), Health Care (+0.4%), Consumer Staples (+0.4%), Financials (+0.3%), Industrials (+0.3%)
Declining Sectors: Telecom (-0.1%), Tech (-0.2%), Consumer Discretionary (-0.3%)
FEAR METER: The S&P 500 implied volatility little changed.