Wall St. falls on rate concerns; Citi up after the bell

At one point during today's trading, there was enough good news, or at least the sentiment that it was a good time to buy in on a low, that the Dow was up over 100 points, only to then plummet again on continuing fears of a possible interest rate hike announcement from the Fed next week which many investors fear will kill this long-standing historic bull market, even though the Fed has been very clear that it intends to be very careful to be slow and gradual in its actions so as to avoid that very outcome.  In the end, the market lost all the earlier gains plus an additional 27 points to boot.  The strengthening dollar (also rooted in the prevailing low interest rates) also added to concerns.  Ordinarily a strong dollar would be good news but, again, we are in irrational times where good news is often taken as bad news since, in this new era of global economies, though a strong dollar is very good for domestic health, it is a bane for the many U.S. companies doing their business overseas.  Volume was quite respectable at 6.6 billion.

Wall St. falls on rate concerns; Citi up after the bell

BY CAROLINE VALETKEVITCH

DJ:     17,635.39  -27.55       NAS:      4,849.94  -9.85         S&P:      2,040.24  -3.92

NEW YORK Wed Mar 11, 2015 5:30pm EDT

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended lower for a second straight session on Wednesday as worries grew about the timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike and dollar strength further dampened the outlook for U.S. earnings.

The move followed the S&P 500's biggest one-day decline in two months in the previous session, which surpassed a selloff of similar magnitude on Friday. The S&P 500 is now off 3.6 percent from its March 2 record closing high and is down 0.9 percent for the year so far.

Friday's stronger-than-expected jobs report, which solidified views the Fed could raise rates as early as June, was largely behind the recent jitters.

"It's all about rates. I think many are holding onto the view that if the Fed raises rates, stocks stop in their tracks and reverse, and the bull market ends," said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Bolton Global Asset Management in Boston.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 27.55 points, or 0.16 percent, to 17,635.39, theS&P 500 .SPX lost 3.92 points, or 0.19 percent, to 2,040.24 and the Nasdaq Composite.IXIC dropped 9.85 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,849.94.

The dollar extended its gains against the euro, following the start of the European Central Bank's 1.1 trillion euro bond-buying program. The euro fell 1.5 percent to trade near $1.05 for the first time in 12 years and the single currency EUR= is down 12 percent against the greenback since January.

The dollar's sharp rise has added to worries the currency will continue to weigh on U.S. multinationals' earnings.

"The dollar continues to strengthen. That's a double-edged kind of development in that it will lead to more investor interest in the United States, but on the other hand, it hampers the ability of U.S. multinationals to compete overseas," said John Carey, portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management in Boston.

S&P 500 earnings are now expected to decline 2.7 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Shares of Tyson Foods (TSN.N) were down 5.6 percent at $37.55 and Pilgrims Pride Corp (PPC.O) dropped 4.4 percent. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial turkey flock in Arkansas.

After the bell, shares of major banks were active following the Fed's review of their capital plans. Shares of Bank of America (BAC.N) were down about 1 percent after the Fed approved its capital plans but directed the bank to address process weaknesses.

Shares of Citigroup (C.N) jumped 3.1 percent to $53.95 while Morgan Stanley (MS.N) gained 3.1 percent to $36.02.

Also after the close, Shake Shack (SHAK.N) fell 6.5 percent to $43.85 following the release of its results.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,769 to 1,275; on theNasdaq, 1,546 issues rose and 1,172 fell.

About 6.6 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, compared with the 6.6 billion average for the month to date, according to data from BATS Global Markets.