Stocks End Ugly Quarter With Gains

In financial-sector news, Citigroup said it's splitting itself into two units -- one focused on consumer banking and the other on credit cards -- and confirmed that it's hiring Teresa Dial to lead its North American consumer banking businesses.

Word also surfaced that Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote) is planning to sue Japanese-based trading firm Marubeni for $350 million in order to recover funds it alleges were lost to fraud. Shares finished down 0.6% after spending most of the day trading higher.

Elsewhere, cigarette maker Philip Morris International (PM Quote) ultimately lost ground in its market debut following its spinoff by Altria Group (MO Quote), ending down 0.9% to $50.58 after climbing as much as 7% earlier. Shareholders received one Philip Morris share for each of their Altria shares.

Back in analyst actions, teen-apparel chain Wet Seal (WTSLA Quote) was upped to outperform at Cowen, and BMO Capital Markets slashed J.C. Penney's (JCP Quote) price target by $10 to $45 while maintaining the retailer's outperform rating. That comes just after the company issued soft guidance for the coming year.

Wet Seal shares jumped 5.9%, and J.C. Penney shares closed out a choppy day 0.6% higher.

Also, Punk Ziegel brought Wachovia's (WB Quote) price target down to $29 from $34. Still, shares were up 3.9%.

Commodity prices were in retreat. Crude oil lost $4.04 to $101.58, and April gold futures slid $14.40 to $916.20.

Treasury prices were rising. The 10-year note was up 5/32 in price to yield 3.42%, and the 30-year bond was adding 13/32 in price, yielding 4.30%.

Overseas markets were mixed. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo lost 2.3%, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong gave up 1.9%. In Europe, London's FTSE 100 and the Paris Cac each advanced 0.2%. Germany's Xetra Dax was off 0.4%.