US STOCKS-S&P 500 set for worst first quarter since 1938

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or type
LIVE/ in a news window)
* Energy stocks gain on higher oil prices
* Dow set for worst first quarter ever
* March consumer confidence drops less than expected
* Indexes up: Dow 0.31%, S&P 0.21%, Nasdaq 0.90%

(Updates to late morning; Adds comment)
By Uday Sampath Kumar and Medha Singh
March 31 (Reuters) - Wall Street steadied on Tuesday as
investors returned to stocks that are likely to weather an
economic slump due to the coronavirus pandemic that has put the
S&P 500 on course for its worst first quarter since 1938.
Technology firms .SPLRCT , which have been resilient amid a
broader selloff that has erased more than $5 trillion from the
value of S&P 500 firms, were the biggest boost to the index.
Real estate stocks .SPLRCR , utilities .SPLRCU and
consumer staples .SPLRCS , on the other hand, led declines
following a recent rally, partly as traders rebalanced their
portfolios at the end of the quarter.
"Stocks have been on a wild ride ... (and) not surprisingly,
investors are split on whether to lean in to or fade the current
rally," said Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at
Credit Suisse Securities in New York.
An unprecedented round of fiscal and monetary stimulus had
helped equity markets stabilize last week following wild swings
in the past month that saw the benchmark S&P 500 rise 9% and
slump 12% in two consecutive sessions.
Wall Street's volatility index .VIX has retreated from
12-year highs but is still at levels rarely seen since the
global financial crisis.
Sliding from the record highs of mid February, the Dow Jones
and S&P 500 indexes are now set to end the quarter more than 18%
lower from the start of the year.
The blue-chip Dow is on course for its biggest quarterly
percentage decline since 1987, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is
set for its worst three months since 2018.
On Tuesday, Facebook Inc FB.O , Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O ,
Apple AAPL.O , Netflix Inc NFLX.O and Google-parent Alphabet
Inc GOOGL.O - known as the FAANG group of stocks - rose 1% to
2.6%, helping the Nasdaq outperform broader gains.
"You're still watching Netflix, you're still ordering your
stuff from Amazon ... the usage is so ingrained for some of
these names even with this backdrop (that) it's not surprising
that tech has held up as well as it has," said Jack Janasiewicz,
portfolio manager at Natixis Investment Managers Solutions.
Data on Tuesday showed that U.S. consumer confidence dropped
less-than-expected in March, but investors have so far ignored
macroeconomic data as they brace for corporate defaults and more
mass layoffs in the second quarter.
A surprise expansion in China's March factory activity
injected optimism about a potential recovery for U.S. businesses
once sweeping stay-at-home orders are lifted and the economy
comes back online.
At 11:18 a.m. ET the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
up 68.97 points, or 0.31%, at 22,396.45, the S&P 500 .SPX was
up 5.59 points, or 0.21%, at 2,632.24 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC was up 70.32 points, or 0.90%, at 7,844.47.
The energy index .SPNY jumped 4%, boosted by a rebound in
prices from 18-year lows after the United States and Russia
agreed to discuss stabilizing energy markets. O/R
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.42-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.58-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded eight new highs and 16 new lows.