Thursday's early afternoon trade: stocks dip as Wells Fargo leads fall in financials

Wall Street was lower on Thursday ahead of the long Easter weekend, as Wells Fargo led declines in financial stocks and gains in the dollar hurt commodities. Wells Fargo's 2.2 percent drop was the biggest drag on the S&P 500. UBS started coverage of the bank's stock with a "sell" rating, citing cloudy revenue outlook and credit risks that extend beyond its energy portfolio.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, became the latest official to take a hawkish stance after he said on Thursday that another hike "may not be far off." The comments are in contrast with Fed Chair Janet Yellen's cautious tone on raising rates as the central bank remains data dependant and wary of weak global financial and economic conditions. "The outlook for most investors is caution," said Amir Madden, portfolio manager at asset management firm GAM in New York.
Madden said the lack of clear guidance on the Fed's move, poor visibility on earnings and geopolitical concerns would weigh on investor sentiment. At 12:31 pm ET (1631 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average was down 70.95 points, or 0.41 percent, at 17,431.64, the S&P 500 was down 10.07 points, or 0.49 percent, at 2,026.64 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 17.45 points, or 0.37 percent, at 4,751.42. Eight of the 10 major S&P sectors were lower, led by a 1.3 percent fall in the financial sector. Goldman Sachs was down 1.9 percent at $151.15 and weighed the most on the Dow.