Publications
Partners
New York - Wall Street stocks tumbled on Tuesday, snapping a two-day winning streak to close the first quarter on a sour note as volatility in equity markets stays high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 200.19 points to 17 776.12.
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 18.35 points to 2 067.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 46.56 points to 4 900.88.
US stocks have been choppy as investors ponder US monetary policy, Greece's prospects for staying in the eurozone and the big drop in oil prices.
"We're seeing an increase in volatility. Investors have a lot of questions," said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management.
Data on Tuesday showed a gain in consumer confidence in March and a modest year-on-year rise in US home prices in January.
Biotech stocks, which have been seen by some analysts as overvalued, fell sharply. Biogen lost 2.2%, Celgene fell 4.0% and Gilead Sciences declined 2.5%.
Tech stocks that fell included Apple (-1.5%), Facebook (-1.2%) and Netflix (-1.4%).
Cable TV operator Charter Communications bolted 5.3% higher after announcing it would buy Bright House Networks for $10.4bn in cash and shares, bringing it an additional two million customers in Florida as well as four other US states.
Johnson Controls gained 1.2% on news it reached a deal to sell a unit specialising in workplace efficiency to the CBRE Group for $1.5bn. CBRE jumped 6.35%.
Tobacco companies Reynolds American and Lorillard fell on reports saying their merger could be blocked by US antitrust regulators. Lorillard lost 1.6% and Reynolds shed 0.8%.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.93% from 1.96%, while the 30-year dipped to 2.54% from 2.55%. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
