Wall Street stocks opened little changed Monday as a heavy week of US economic reports and earnings kicked off with data showing a slight rise in consumer spending in June.
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Traders Anthony Riccio, left, and Michael Urkonis work on the floor…
“It’s a combination of the energy stocks, then the industrials and now the tech stocks, which have joined on the downside”, said Donald Selkin, chief market strategist at National Securities in New York, which has about $3 billion in assets under management.
Specialist Mike Pistillo, left, and trader Timothy Nick work on the…
Investors were also watching company earnings. Tyson Foods dropped after cutting its earnings outlook for the year. The S&P 500 declined 6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,098, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 13 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,115.
Just after 1500 BST the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 42 points to 17,647.67, while while the S&P 500 fell less than two points and the Nasdaq climbed nine points.
ASIA’S DAY: The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.1 percent to 3,622.91 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.9 percent to 24,411.42.
Oil prices fell again, bringing the price of U.S. crude down to its lowest level since March. The price of oil slumped 21 percent in July on evidence of a global supply glut and speculation that global demand is set to weaken.
A gauge of manufacturing in Greece plummeted in July to the lowest reading ever recorded, despite improvements across the rest of the 19-country eurozone.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.7 percent to 1,583.52 points.
Asian stocks were hurt by worries on lower Chinese manufacturing and Greece’s stock market plunged after reopening for the first time in more than a month.
Apple shares slid after a report by Canalys said Apple gave up some smart-phone market share in China to local rivals in the second quarter. Germany’s DAX rose 1.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.6 percent.
China’s factory activity shrank more than initially estimated last month, a survey showed. Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged.
Though Monday’s data matters, Friday’s jobs report is seen by many investors as the next big catalyst for US stocks, as it is viewed as be a strong determinant for the Fed’s timing on raising short-term interest rates.
CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 124.10 yen from 123.97 yen in the previous trading session.
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Nice Systems rose 1 percent to $65.15 after the Israeli software provider agreed to sell its video surveillance technologies unit to private equity firm Battery Ventures.
