S&P 500 ends lower in Fed rally reversal

That party didn't last very long.  Usually these wonderful Fed announcements leave the market on a high for at least few days, but not this time around.  One day this time.  That's all it took, the dollar once again got stronger, oil once again got weaker and the market tanked 117 points.  Looking at the daily chart, it was certainly a choppy day, showing once again that nobody knows what the hell is going on and are just reacting wildly to any little piece of news, good and bad.  But the labor market seems on reasonably solid footing, the weak 1st quarter has been written off to the harsh winter and 2nd quarter looks very positive.  What's left is for everyone to again start wondering what comes next.  Volume was just a little below recent averages at 6.2 billion.

S&P 500 ends lower in Fed rally reversal

BY RODRIGO CAMPOS

DJ:    17,959.03  -117.16     NAS:    4,992.38  +9.55        S&P:      2,089.27  -10.23

NEW YORK Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:07pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as a stronger dollar weighed on oil and other commodity prices, sending energy and materials sectors lower.

The greenback rose after a sharp decline on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve appeared to be more dovish than expected even as it opened the door for a Fed funds rate hike as soon as in June. U.S. stocks rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday after the Fed statement.

WTI crude CLc1 fell 1.9 percent and Brent LCOc1 fell 2.6 percent as the dollar strengthened, and on concerns over excess supply. The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY fell 1.7 percent.

"The forward path in interest rates is going to be slower than previously expected. The market celebrated that yesterday, and now it's wondering what comes next," said Kevin Caron, market strategist at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co in Florham Park, New Jersey.

Initial jobless claims rose marginally last week, indicating the labor market remained on solid footing. Growth has slowed in the first quarter, hurt in part by a harsh winter and a strong dollar, but many analysts see a positive outlook for the second quarter. [ID:nL2N0WL0O8]

"The economy seems to be doing better and that could be providing some support for the dollar," said Caron, noting the Fed's tightening path was not the only tailwind for the U.S. currency.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 117.16 points, or 0.65 percent, to 17,959.03, theS&P 500 .SPX lost 10.23 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,089.27 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC added 9.55 points, or 0.19 percent, to 4,992.38.

Biotech stocks helped buoy the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500's healthcare sector .SPXHC. Regeneron (REGN.O) added 2.9 percent to $486.02 and Biogen (BIIB.O) rose 1.3 percent to $433.65 after Credit Suisse upped its price target on the stock to $500 from $400. The Nasdaq biotech index .NBI rose 1.9 percent.

Guess Inc (GES.N) shares surged 16 percent to $19.42. Quarterly profit beat analyst estimates as the apparel retailer's expenses declined and online business grew. [IDnL3N0WK5HU]

About 6.2 billion shares changed hands in U.S. exchanges, below the 6.67 billion daily average so far this month.