Investors whipsawed by the vagaries of Greece's episodic debt negotiations
US stocks ended Tuesday's volatile session slightly higher on 30 June 2015, as investors were whipsawed by the vagaries of Greece's episodic debt negotiations. However, Tuesday's positive finish for stocks wasn't enough to overcome Monday's Greek-inspired rout, which has left most of the main stock indexes with quarterly and monthly losses. News from Greece dominated the trading day. Markets appeared to rise on reports that Greece proposed a two-year deal using the eurozone bailout fund.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 22.82 points, or 0.1%, to 17,619.17. The S&P 500 ended 5.45 points, or 0.3%, higher at 2,063.0. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite gained 28.40 points, or 0.7% to 4,958. The tech-heavy index booked a 1.6% monthly loss, but finished the quarter 1.8% higher and is up 5.3% so far this year.
Over the month, nine of 10 main sectors recorded losses, with utilities suffering the most. The sector declined more than 6% over the month. Over the past quarter, utilities also led the losses, down 6.7%, while health-care stocks finished with a 2.4% gain.
The S&P 500 ended the quarter lower, snapping a nine-quarter winning streak. Monthly losses for both the S&P 500 and Dow industrials 2.1% and 2.2% respectively were the worst since January. At the half-year mark, the S&P is 0.2% higher, while the Dow is 1.1% lower.
Equity indices spent the first three hours of the day in a steady retreat from their opening highs with the S&P 500 making a momentary appearance in the red after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Germany cannot consider new proposals from Greece until after Sunday's referendum.
However, the benchmark index climbed to a fresh high during afternoon action with the move taking place amid reports Greece could cancel its Sunday referendum if negotiations are resumed and an agreement could be reached on required prior actions.
The Greece government needed to make a more than 1 billion Euro debt payment by the end of today, or be technically in default. Greece on Tuesday asked for a new bailout amid a last-minute diplomatic push to seal some kind of agreement before the country's current rescue deal expires and it defaults on a payment to the International Monetary Fund. Greek banks remain closed and Greece's prime minister has called for a July 5 referendum on new austerity measures. Greece is now closer than ever to exiting the European monetary system.
European stock markets were lower again on Tuesday on the Greece worries. However, U.S. stock indexes were posting rallies on Tuesday afternoon and the rest of the world market place is a only bit anxious about what's happening with Greece--and by no means is the anxiety anything close to panic.
Economic data included Chicago PMI, Consumer Confidence, and Case-Shiller 20-city Index. The Chicago PMI increased to 49.4 in June from 46.2 in May while the consensus expected an increase to 50.0. According to the report, manufacturing activity in the Chicago region has contracted in 4 out of the last 5 months.
Separately, the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased to 101.4 in June from a downwardly revised 94.6 (from 95.4) in May while the consensus expected an increase to 97.5. The Expectations Index increased to 94.6 in June from 86.2 in May while the Present Situation Index rose to 111.6 from 109.5.
The Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index for April rose 4.9% against a 5.6% increase expected by the consensus. This followed the previous month's increase of 5.0%.
Bullion prices ended lower at Comex on Tuesfay, 30 June 2015 at Comex. Gold prices ended the U.S. day session low and hit a three-week low on Tuesday. The deteriorating Greek debt crisis has so far failed to roil world markets, or support safe-haven gold. A stronger U.S. dollar index on this day and the continued bearish technical posture for gold also had the sellers in firm control on Tuesday.
Gold for August delivery on Comex fell $7.20, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,171.80 an ounce. On Tuesday, prices tapped a low of $1,165.40 a level prices haven't settled at since mid-March. Year to date, prices based on the most-active contracts were down by roughly 1%. For the month, they lost about 1.5%.
September silver fell 11.4 cents, or 0.7%, to $15.581 an ounce for a year-to-date loss of 0.1%.
Crude oil futures on Tuesday, 30 June 2015 ended the first half of the year with a hefty gain, settling higher for the session with the deadline for a final agreement over Iran's nuclear program extended by a week. Meanwhile, financial markets remained jittery as Eurozone finance ministers rejected Greece's last-minute request to extend its bailout program, but said it will consider a request for a new rescue program.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, August West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on $1.14, or 2%, to settle at $59.47 a barrel. It had tallied a four-session loss of more than 4%. Tracking the most-active contracts, prices were up roughly 11.6% year to date. For the month, prices saw a loss of about 1.4%.
Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be released at 7:00 ET while June Challenger Job Cuts will be reported at 7:30 ET. The ADP Employment Report for June (consensus 220K) will be released at 8:15 ET while May Construction Spending (consensus 0.3%) and June ISM Index (expected 53.2) will both be reported at 10:00 ET.
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