The stock markets in the United States fluctuated and eventually ended the trading session down except the Russell 2000, up by 0.18%. Investors continue to review economic data and monitor a potential progress concerning Greece’s debt discussions.
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Yesterday, the equity markets climbed after the Institute for Supply Management reported that the U.S. manufacturing sector increased 1.3% to 52.8 % in May, a sign that the economy is improving. A separate report showed that consumer spending stalled in April.
Today, the Department of Commerce reported that the new orders for manufactured goods declined 0.4% or $1.8 billion to $476.7 billion in April. The decline came after a 2.2% increase in March.
A separate report showed that U.S. automobile industry is on track to achieving the fastest sales acceleration in more than nine years. The sales of General Motors climbed 3%, Fiat Chrysler rose 4%, Honda 1% and Subaru increased 12%.
[drizzle]Later this week, the Department of Labor will release its report on unemployment claims and monthly non-farm payrolls data.
Commenting on the market trends, Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller, Tabak & Co. told Bloomberg, “Yesterday was a microcosm of what we’ve seen for several months now — big intraday swings, only to end up little changed.”
He added that investors will focus attention on “Friday’s big employment number,: and noted that “there’s a lot of indecision.” According to him, “If the situation in Greece deteriorates, it leaves a lot of downside potential for the U.S. stock market.”
The head of the international Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU leaders intensified their discussions regarding the fate of Greece, and how to prevent the country from defaulting. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Greece submitted its proposals to break the deadlock. The Greek government said it could make its debt repayment to the IMF this month.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 18,011.94 (-0.16%)
- S&P 500- 2,109.60 (-0.10%)
- NASDAQ- 5,076.52 (-0.13%)
- Russell 2000- 1,251.89 (+0.18%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,561.89 (-0.37%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,928.27 (-0.36%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 11,328.80 (-0.94%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 20,543.19 (-0.13%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 27,466.72 (-0.47%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 5,162.33 (+1.69%)
Stocks in Focus
The shares of Dollar General gained almost 3% to $74.92 per share after reporting earnings that beat consensus estimate. The discount retailer posted first quarter earnings of $0.84 per share compared with the $0.81 per share expected by analysts.
The stock price of Freeport-McMoRan increased more than 5% to $20.46 per share, its highest gain in five weeks.
The stock price of Intel dropped 2% after announcing its agreement to acquire Altera for $16.7 billion. Analysts at BMO Capital downgraded their rating on the stock to Market Perform and reduced their price target to $33 per share.
PVH climbed more than 7% to $112.13 per share today. The global apparel company posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings. PVH reported earnings of $1.50 per share on $1.79 billion in revenue. Analysts expected the company to deliver $1.38 in earnings per share on $1.86 billion in revenue.
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