*

Consumer sentiment at 57.9 in March

*

Tesla up on report it is planning lower-cost Model Y in

Shanghai

*

Bullion miners up after gold prices breach $3,000 mark

(Updates to market close)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, March 14 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks rebounded on

Friday as investors hunted for bargains at the end of a

tumultuous week in which U.S. President Donald Trump's

escalating trade war fueled recession fears and doused risk

appetite.

A broad rally boosted all three major U.S. stock indexes to

solid gains, with recently battered tech-related megacaps

enjoying a comeback. Every one of the so-called Magnificent 7

artificial intelligence-related momentum stocks advanced,

although six of them remain down on the year.

"I don't see a catalyst that would spark this huge upside

we're seeing in markets," said Ross Mayfield, investment

strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky.

"We're obviously down 10% from all-time highs and pretty

oversold, which sets good conditions for a rally even if the

fundamental problems are not solved."

Even with Friday's bounce, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

notched their fourth straight weekly losses. The Dow also posted

a Friday-to-Friday dip.

Encouraging inflation data on Wednesday and Thursday was

overshadowed this week by mounting uncertainties arising from

Trump's frequently shifting policies, including tariff threats

against the biggest U.S. trading partners.

Those uncertainties sent investors fleeing from equities in

favor of safe-haven assets, lifting gold prices above the $3,000

per ounce level for the first time.

"The market doesn't like the tariff stuff, the added

uncertainty that keeps them from planning and making decisions,"

said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital, in St.

Louis, Missouri.

"Trump is ... wreaking havoc, with his advisors talking

about detox, about how maybe a recession is coming, maybe not.

It's unsettling, indecisive, it's bad for the economy and bad

for the stock market."

Those anxieties were laid bare by a dire report from the

University of Michigan, which showed consumer sentiment

plummeting to its most pessimistic level in nearly two years and

one-year inflation expectations spiking to 4.9%.

The report echoes other recent downbeat survey data,

including a Reuters/Ipsos poll of Americans conducted March

11-12 that showed 57% of survey participants believe Trump's

policies will do more harm than good.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500

gained 116.61 points, or 2.11%, to end at 5,638.13

points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 451.07 points,

or 2.61%, to 17,754.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 661.81 points, or 1.65%, to 41,487.79.

Tesla rose following a report on the electric

vehicle maker's plans to make a lower-cost version of its

best-selling Model Y in Shanghai, aiming to regain ground lost

during a price war in its second-largest market.

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) shares advanced ahead of next week's GPU

Technology Conference (GTC), which is expected to culminate in a

hotly anticipated keynote address from Nvidia ( NVDA ) CEO Jensen Huang.