Euro posts record quarterly drop; Wall St ends day lower

S&P 500, Nasdaq register ninth straight quarterly gains

The euro closed out the worst quarter in its 15-year history on Tuesday, slammed by monetary policy changes and worries about Greece, while US stocks retreated a day after posting big gains.

But the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq registered their ninth straight quarterly gains.

The euro skidded 11% against the dollar in the first quarter reflecting investors' expectations of divergent monetary policies. Investors are betting that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year, while the European Central Bank's one-trillion-euro economic stimulus program is weakening the euro.

The euro on Tuesday was down 0.8% against the dollar. The greenback marked its biggest quarterly rise against the world's top six currencies since 2008.

On Wall Street, energy shares were among the biggest drags, falling in tandem with a decline in crude oil prices, offsetting a lift from two days of corporate takeover announcements, including several biotech deals on Monday and Charter Communications' plan to buy Bright House Networks for roughly $10 billion.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 200.19 points, or 1.11%, to 17,776.12, the S&P 500 lost 18.35 points, or 0.88%, to 2,067.89, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 46.56 points, or 0.94%, to 4,900.88.

"Today's price action is reflection of all the bad in the quarter - the stronger dollar, weaker oil - and in some respects just a snapback from yesterday's outsized gains," said John Canally, chief economic strategist for LPL Financial in Boston.

"Tomorrow's a new quarter and there's a new batch of people ready to take some risks, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see an up day," he said.

The benchmark S&P 500's quarterly winning streak was its longest since 1998 while the Nasdaq's was its longest ever. The Dow fell slightly for the quarter.

But all three indexes declined for the month of March.

US Treasury debt prices rose, getting a lift from buying by institutional investors preparing their portfolios for the end of the quarter. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up 7/32 in price, with the yield at 1.9353%.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed off 0.7% as traders squared up for the quarter end.

Greece's debt negotiations have made investors uneasy on both sides of the Atlantic. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday that Athens had a certain degree of flexibility on which reforms to implement but stressed that they must "add up."

Greece's leader, Alexis Tsipras, responded by appealing for an "honest compromise" but warned he would not agree to unconditional demands.

Oil took a slide on prospects that OPEC member Iran could reach a deal on its nuclear program that could allow Tehran to sell more of its oil onto an already saturated market.

US crude settled down 2.2% at $47.60 per barrel while Brent fell 2% to $55.11. 

Brent crude tumbled 12% for the month of March.