US stocks end lower as Yemen crisis stokes volatility

Wall Street stocks Thursday ended lower in volatile trade spurred by the Yemen crisis.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 40.31 points (0.23 percent) to 17,678.23. The blue-chip index had fallen below 17,600 earlier in the session.
The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 4.90 (0.24 percent) to 2,056.15, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 13.16 (0.27 percent) at 4,863.36.
Oil prices rose sharply as a Saudi-led coalition bombed Huthi Shiite rebels in support of Yemen's embattled president. Iran condemned the intervention.
US stocks seemed headed for another rout in early trade after Wednesday's losses but clawed back into positive territory at mid-afternoon before finishing modestly in the red.
"At least for today, the buy-the-dip mentality has been in effect," said Michael James, managing director for equity trading at Wedbush Securities.
Airline stocks were hit by higher oil prices and news that a pilot appeared to have intentionally caused the deadly Germanwings plane crash Tuesday. American Airlines dropped 1.4 percent and United Continental fell 0.9 percent.
SanDisk, which manufactures data storage devices, sank 18.5 percent as it slashed its first-quarter revenue forecast to $1.3 billion from the previous $1.40-$1.45 billion.
Software company Red Hat bolted 10.3 percent higher after announcing a $500 million stock repurchase program. Net income for the fourth quarter rose 5.8 percent to $47.7 million.
Yoga-attire maker Lululemon Athletica jumped 4.9 percent as revenues for the quarter ending February 1 rose 15.6 percent to $602.5 million.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.00 percent from 1.93 percent Wednesday, while the 30-year advanced to 2.59 percent from 2.51 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.