Stock market today: US stocks close mixed but traders enjoy best start to the year since 2019

The S&P 500 had its strongest first quarter since 2019, up nearly 11%. Rate-cut optimism and US economic strength pushed stocks to record levels.

• The S&P 500 ended at a record high Thursday to cap off its strongest first quarter in five years on Thursday.
• Initial filings for unemployment came in lower than expected for the week up to March 16.
• The latest GDP estimate for the fourth quarter came in at 3.4% year-over-year.

US stocks were little changed on Thursday, closing mixed to end a short week, though each of the three benchmark indexes capped off winning months and quarters.

The benchmark S&P 500 closed at a record high, cementing its best first quarter since 2019 after climbing more than 10.7% in the three-month stretch.

Initial unemployment filings for the week ending March 16 came in lower than expected at 210,000 versus the 211,000 expected by Dow Jones estimates. Meanwhile, the US Department of Commerce said real gross domestic product climbed by a revised estimate of 3.4% year-over-year last quarter. 

Jerome Powell will deliver remarks on Friday, and investors will also be watching for the release of February personal consumption expenditures data, which is the central bank's preferred measure of inflation. 

The US stock market will be closed for Good Friday. 

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Tuesday: 

• S&P 500: 5,254.35, up 0.11% 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,807.37, up 0.12% (+47.29 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 16,379.46, down 0.12% 

Here's what else is going on: 

• Wedbush cut its Tesla price target and said the EV maker has had a nightmare first quarter.
• Dogecoin rallied Thursday and its valuation eclipsed that of Deutsche Bank.
• Bitcoin's halving may force miners to risk operating in cheaper locations with less reliable electrical grids.
• The US and the UK are reportedly looking into $20 billion of crypto payments that may have helped Moscow evade sanctions.
• The EIA said the Baltimore bridge collapse will dent a 28-million-ton coal-exporting operation.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices climbed, with West Texas Intermediate up 2% to $82.98 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved higher 1.6% to $87.50 a barrel.
• Gold climbed 1.35% to $2,224.60 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield was nearly flat at 4.206%.
• Bitcoin jumped 3.36% to $70,929.