(CNBC) U.S. stocks closed narrowly mixed Thursday, the final trading day of the quarter, ahead of the monthly employment report due Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 posted two straight quarters of gains, while the Nasdaq composite had its worst first quarter since 2009.
In afternoon trade Thursday, the Nasdaq composite outperformed as Microsoft gained and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) traded about 2.5 percent higher. Apple held slightly lower.