US close: Dow plunges over 290 points as oil prices rebound on Yemen turmoil

LONDON (ShareCast) - US stocks fell sharply on Wednesday marking the third consecutive session of decline, as biotech and technology stocks drove the markets deep into the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 292.60 points to 17,718.54, while the Nasdaq suffered its worst drop in 11 months after shedding 118.21 points and the S&P 500 lost 30.45 points.

Orders for durable US goods declined for the third time in four months in February, as businesses remain reluctant to spend and invest.

According to figures released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, durable goods orders declined 1.4% month-on-month, against consensus for an increase between 0.1% and 0.2%, as lower demand in the aircraft industry weighed on the overall data.

Excluding the transport sector, orders declined 0.4% registering their fifth consecutive negative reading.

"Barring a big rally in March, there is a good chance that the GDP figures will show that investment in equipment contracted slightly over the first quarter," said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics. "This weakness could be linked to the big shake-out in the oil and gas sector, but that sector doesn't account for a very big share of the existing stock of capital goods." Meanwhile, applications for US home mortgages rose in the week to 20 March, as interest rates declined to their lowest level since February.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity climbed 9.5% last week.

In company news, Kraft Foods (NasdaqGS: KRFT - news) surging 35.62%, after announcing a merger with HJ Heinz Company in a that deal will create the third largest food and beverage company in the US.

Software (LSE: 0NJS.L - news) company Kofax soared 45.63% after confirming it had agreed to be taken over by printing giant Lexmark International (NYSE: LXK - news) in a deal worth approximately $1bn.

Private education services provider Apollo Education Group plunged 28.40% after providing a disappointing sales outlook for the rest of the year.

Payroll and insurance provider Paycheck fell 4.09% after analysts at Janney Capital Markets said the company's business lacked "a fundamental catalyst." However, the group also posted adjusted quarterly profit that matched expectations, while revenue that beat forecasts.

The dollar relinquished Tuesday's gains, falling 0.64% against the euro and losing 0.28% and 0.31% against the pound and the yen respectively, while gold futures climbed 0.33% to $1,195.30.

Oil prices staged a strong recovery, as turmoil in Yemen casted doubts over crude supplies in the Middle East. West Texas Intermediate gained 2.9% to $48.95 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 2% to $56.25 a barrel.

S&P 500 - Risers Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) $83.15 +35.59% Denbury Resources Inc (NYSE: DNR - news) . (DNR) $7.64 +4.37% Noble Corporation plc (NYSE: NE - news) (NE) $14.65 +3.90% Ensco Plc (NYSE: ESV - news) . (ESV) $21.76 +3.62% Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $59.64 +3.11% Transocean Ltd (LSE: 0QOW.L - news) . (RIG) $15.24 +2.76% Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $63.78 +2.75% Nabors Industries Ltd (NYSE: NBR - news) . (NBR) $13.58 +2.57% Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $50.90 +2.56% CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE: CNX - news) . (CNX) $29.02 +2.54% S&P 500 - Fallers Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $72.75 -7.63% Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $124.43 -6.53% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $21.03 -6.10% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $59.37 -5.72% Applied Materials Inc (NasdaqGS: AMAT - news) . (AMAT) $22.63 -5.31% Broadcom Corp (NasdaqGS: BRCM - news) . (BRCM) $42.31 -5.10% Keurig Green Mountain Inc (Xetra: GM2.DE - news) (GMCR) $117.70 -4.99% Micron Technology Inc (NasdaqGS: MU - news) . (MU) $26.57 -4.97% Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $45.47 -4.68% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $431.63 -4.66% Dow Jones I.A - Risers Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.67 +1.41% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $84.86 +0.40% Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $41.46 -3.36% Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.89 -2.92% International Business Machines Corp. (IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) ) $159.20 -2.33% Boeing Co (NYSE: BA - news) . (BA) $148.23 -2.26% 3M Co. (MMM) $162.70 -2.18% E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $72.03 -2.13% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $113.68 -2.13% United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $116.44 -2.09% Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $81.32 -2.08% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS (KSE: 078935.KS - news) ) $187.35 -2.05% Nasdaq 100 - Risers Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) $83.15 +35.59% Mondelez International Inc (Xetra: A1J4U0 - news) . (MDLZ) $35.81 +2.27% Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $5.61 +1.08% Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $124.43 -6.53% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $21.03 -6.10% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $59.37 -5.72% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $22.63 -5.31% Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) $42.31 -5.10% Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $117.70 -4.99% Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $26.57 -4.97% Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) $45.47 -4.68% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $431.63 -4.66% Analog Devices Inc (NasdaqGS: ADI - news) . (ADI) $57.56 -4.64%