Wall St. ends down in choppy session, but off lows

Looks like we didn't have to wait two weeks.  We didn't have to even wait two days.  Q1 earnings estimates have already started coming in and, as in prior quarters, they are once again glowing, considerably beyond expectations in spite of the fears of the strong dollar hurting profits.  Other good news included a rally in crude prices due to the Saudi strikes on Yemen, jobless claims falling more than expected and a report of a six-month high for the services sector.  But today, none of this mattered as the Dow dropped 140 points right out the gate but did ultimately recover all but 40 points.  Translation: a few earnings reports do not a trend make so everyone's still on the fence waiting for more data.  It's all coming soon.   Volume was quite active at 7 billion.

Wall St. ends down in choppy session, but off lows
BY RODRIGO CAMPOS

DJ:       17,678.23  -40.31        NAS:   4,863.36  -13.16          S&P:    2,056.15  -4.90

NEW YORK Thu Mar 26, 2015 4:48pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell for a fourth straight session on Thursday but 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 (SNDK.O) cut its revenue outlook. Its shares tumbled 18.4 percent to $66.20 and an index of chipmaker shares .SOX fell 1.4 percent. The index fell as much as 3.5 percent earlier.

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

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

Red Hat (RHT.N) rallied 10.1 percent 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 U.S.-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 .DJI fell 40.31 points, or 0.23 percent, to 17,678.23, theS&P 500 .SPX lost 4.9 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,056.15 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXICdropped 13.16 points, or 0.27 percent, to 4,863.36.

Energy stocks on the S&P 500 .SPNY ended down 0.2 percent 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 (WGO.N) fell after reporting a lower-than-expected quarterly profit as expenses rose. Shares tumbled 14.3 percent 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 NasdaqComposite recorded 18 new highs and 45 new lows.

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