US stocks dip as dollar strengthens again

Trader Mario Innella works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 11, 2015. US stocks finished lower Wednesday in choppy trade as the dollar hit a new 12-year high against the euro. AP PHOTO/RICHARD DREW

NEW YORK–US stocks finished lower Wednesday in choppy trade as the dollar hit a new 12-year high against the euro.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 27.55 points (0.16 percent) to 17,635.39.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 3.92 (0.19 percent) at 2,040.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 9.85 (0.20 percent) at 4,849.94.

Equity markets continued to watch the dollar, which rose to a fresh 12-year high against the euro two days after the European Central Bank launched a massive government bond-buying stimulus program. The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, is winding down its extraordinary stimulus.

Some analysts have expressed worry at the speed of the dollar’s ascent and the possible drag on US exports.

“You have central banks at a crossroads,” said Brent Schutte, market strategist at BMO Global Asset Management.

Apple fell 1.8 percent following a major outage preventing consumers from shopping on iTunes and other Apple vending sites worldwide.

Salix Pharmaceuticals jumped 7.0 percent as Endo International launched an $11.25 billion bid for the company, challenging an existing purchase agreement of Salix announced by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

Endo fell 1.4 percent, while Valeant dropped 3.9 percent.

Mylan, another pharmaceutical company, jumped 6.7 percent as it launched generic versions of several medications, including treatments for opioid dependence and alcoholism.

Large banks rose ahead of the release of Federal Reserve decisions on whether the largest US banks have enough capital after stress tests to continue with their dividend and share buyback programs.

Bank of America gained 2.0 percent, while Citigroup rose 2.2 percent.

EMC, which specializes in cloud computing and other data storage technology, dropped 4.6 percent following a downgrade by Wells Fargo.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury dropped to 2.11 percent from 2.13 percent Tuesday, while the 30-year declined to 2.68 percent from 2.73 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.