Wall Street ends down in choppy session, but off lows

NEW YORK, MARCH 27 : US stocks fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday but the indexes ended well off session lows with support from economic data and earnings, including Accenture's.

Semiconductor stocks were again under pressure, this time after SanDisk cut its revenue outlook. Its shares tumbled 18.4 per cent to $66.20 and an index of chipmaker shares fell 1.4 per cent. The index fell as much as 3.5 per cent earlier.

The S&P 500 is still less than 3 per cent below its record high hit three weeks ago. The index had rallied last week as concerns ebbed about an overheating dollar.

Consulting company Accenture's quarterly net revenue rose 5 per cent, helped by growth in its outsourcing business as North American companies look to cut costs. Its shares rose 6.8 per cent to $94.17.

Red Hat rallied 10.1 per cent to $75.36 after it forecast a profit for the first quarter that matched analysts' estimates despite warning about a strong dollar hurting its revenue.

"Earnings, particularly from US-based companies, continue to be very strong," said Doug Foreman, chief investment officer at Kayne Anderson Rudnick in Los Angeles.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 40.31 points or 0.23 per cent to 17,678.23, the S&P 500 lost 4.9 points or 0.24 per cent to 2,056.15 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 13.16 points or 0.27 per cent to 4,863.36.

Energy stocks on the S&P 500 ended down 0.2 per cent despite a rally in crude prices following Saudi Arabia's air strikes in Yemen.

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell more than expected last week, while activity in the services sector hit a six-month high in March, underscoring the economy's solid fundamentals despite a recent softening in growth.

Winnebago Industries fell after reporting a lower-than-expected quarterly profit as expenses rose. Shares tumbled 14.3 per cent to $20.39.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,834 to 1,187, for a 1.55-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,492 issues fell and 1,198 advanced, for a 1.25-to-1 ratio.

The benchmark S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and 5 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 18 new highs and 45 new lows.

About 7 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, above the 6.8 billion daily average so far this month, according to BATS Global Markets.

Source : thehindubusinessline.com