Wall Street stocks have tumbled, snapping a two-day winning streak to close the first quarter on a sour note as volatility in equity markets stays high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 200.19 points (1.11 per cent) to 17,776.12 on Tuesday.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 18.35 (0.88 per cent) to 2,067.89, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 46.56 (0.94 per cent) to 4,900.88.

US stocks have been choppy as investors ponder US monetary policy, Greece’s prospects for staying in the eurozone and the big drop in oil prices.

“We’re seeing an increase in volatility. Investors have a lot of questions,” said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management.

Data on Tuesday showed a gain in consumer confidence in March and a modest year-on-year rise in US home prices in January.

Biotech stocks, which have been seen by some analysts as overvalued, fell sharply. Biogen lost 2.2 per cent, Celgene fell 4.0 per cent and Gilead Sciences declined 2.5 per cent.

Tech stocks that fell included Apple (-1.5 per cent), Facebook (-1.2 per cent) and Netflix (-1.4 per cent).

Cable TV operator Charter Communications bolted 5.3 per cent higher after announcing it would buy Bright House Networks for $US10.4 billion in cash and shares, bringing it an additional two million customers in Florida as well as four other US states.

Johnson Controls gained 1.2 per cent on news it reached a deal to sell a unit specialising in workplace efficiency to the CBRE Group for $1.5 billion. CBRE jumped 6.3 per cent.

Tobacco companies Reynolds American and Lorillard fell on reports saying their merger could be blocked by US antitrust regulators. Lorillard lost 1.6 per cent and Reynolds shed 0.8 per cent.

Bond prices rose.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 1.93 per cent from 1.96 per cent, while the 30-year dipped to 2.54 per cent from 2.55 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move inversely.