US SMALL/MIDCAPS-Small-cap index hits high, gains for quarter

NEW YORK , March 31 (Reuters) - Small- and mid-capitalization stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P small-cap index closing at a new all-time high and the market outperforming the large caps for the quarter.

The S&P 500 Small-Cap Index ended at 446.63, up 0.5 percent, and a new high for the index, a day after the Russell 2000 .RUT rose to its highest since October 2007.

For the quarter, the small-cap index .SML rose 7.4 percent and the S&P mid-cap index .MID gained 9 percent -- both above the 5.4 percent quarterly gain for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX.

For the day, the S&P MidCap 400 index .MID rose 0.4 percent. The index also hit a fresh 52-week intraday high at 989.62. In comparison, the benchmark S&P 500 .SPX slipped 0.2 percent.

Given the recent moves higher, analysts expect further gains for the small- and mid-cap market, and see it continuing to outperform the S&P 500.

As in the broader market, "energy has led the way the whole quarter," and that trend is not likely to end soon, said Don Cleven, Boston-based portfolio manager of the Touchstone Mid Cap Value Fund. Touchstone Investments, headquartered in Cincinnati, has $7 billion in assets.

The S&P mid-cap energy index .4GSPE jumped 18.7 percent in the quarter, while the S&P small-cap energy index .6GSPE shot up 24.7 percent for the quarter.

With concerns about oil supplies and worries about nuclear energy after the earthquake in Japan, Cleven said the focus is going to turn to natural gas.

Shares of Dryships Inc (DRYS.O) rose 0.4 percent to $4.95.

A day earlier, the Greek dry bulk carrier and oil and gas driller said it has finally secured financing for all of its four new drillships. After many delays, DryShips said it has received commitments for a new $800 million secured term loan and restructured its $1.1 billion term loan facility from Deutsche Bank. For details, see [ID:L3E7EL1BJ] (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)