The rally came despite the collapse in the Conference Board's monthly consumer confidence index, which fueled concerns about the likely depth of the expected recession in the U.S. in the wake of the global financial crisis.
The 500-stock index, considered a better harbinger of the U.S. market thanks to its breadth and depth, closed at 1, 569 Thursday, up 0.4% on the day and 10% for the first three months of 2013.