Dow: 13,199, -64pts, -0.49%

NASDAQ: 3,113, -6pts, -0.20%

S&P 500: 1,413, -6pts, -0.40%

These stories dominated today's headlines:
  • European markets fell across the board today, led by losses of 2.71 percent in the Spanish IBEX 35 index and 2.04 percent in the Italian FTSE MIB. The French CAC 40 closed the day down 1.62 percent and the German DAX finished down 1.05 percent. SPAIN IS THE NEW GREECE: And This Time It's Big Enough To Matter...


  • February factory orders rose by just 1.3 percent, missing expectations of 1.5 percent. Factory orders grew just 0.9 percent excluding the auto industry. The ISM-New York index of business conditions jumped to 67.4 in March from 63.1 in February, indicating that the pace of economic activity is rising.


  • President Barack Obama slammed Republicans and the Paul Ryan Budget in a speech today. He called the budget plan "so far to the right that it makes the Contract with America look like the New Deal," and labeled it a "Trojan horse" intended to impose social Darwinism on the United States. Ryan fired back, saying that the President is attempting to "duck and run" away from reducing the budget deficit.

  • Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's March 13 meeting showed that the Fed will not undertake more monetary policy easing unless economic growth slows or inflation falls below two percent. This destroyed Wall Street's expectations that policymakers would bolster economic growth with further asset purchases sometime this year. The dollar strengthened and stocks fell immediately after this release. 


  • Gold tanked today, falling more than 2 percent as the FOMC release bolstered confidence in the U.S. economic recovery.

  • A tornado tore through Dallas County, Texas, destroying homes, wreaking havoc, and dominating headlines late in the U.S. trading day. 


  • Various statistical firms are expected to release the seasonally adjusted annual rate of auto sales around 4 PM today. Business Insider proprietary research indicates that the seasonally adjusted, annualized pace of auto sales hit 15.2 million in March.