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Roundup: U.S. stocks retreat on Greek uncertainty

Xinhua, June 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, with the three major indices snapping a three-day winning streak, as investors were assessing the unfolding Greek debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.56 points, or 0.56 percent, to 18,014.28. The S&P 500 dipped 11.48 points, or 0.54 percent, to 2,109.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 15.95 points, or 0.31 percent, to 5,117.00.

In the absence of major economic reports, investors shifted their focus to the Greek debt situation.

Eurozone leaders will hold an emergency summit next Monday to try to avert a Greek default. This comes after a crucial meeting of the eurozone's finance ministers ended without an agreement over the Greece debt issue.

"No agreement is in sight over Greece debt deal," Dutch Finance Minister and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told the press after Eurozone finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg.

On June 30, the extension of Greece's second bailout will expire. On the same day, Athens needs to repay some 1.5 billion euros (1.69 billion U.S. dollars) of loan installments to the International Monetary Fund.

European equities closed mixed on Friday as Greece's deadlock on debt negotiation continued to haunt the market, with British benchmark FTSE 100 Index edging up 0.04 percent.

In Asia, Chinese shares nosedived on Friday as IPO pressure continued to weigh on the market, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plummeting 6.42 percent. The major Shanghai index dived by 13 percent from the previous week, the biggest weekly drop in seven years.

U.S. stocks surged on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index surpassing its dotcom bubble peak set in March 2000, as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's dovish tone on rate hikes.

For the week, all the three major indices posted sizable gains, with the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq up 0.6 percent, 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, rose 5.84 percent to end at 13.96 Friday.

In other markets, oil prices went down Friday as there is no agreement in sight over Greek debt crisis.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery moved down 84 cents to settle at 59.61 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery lost 1.24 dollars to close at 63.02 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar climbed against the euro on Monday as market concerns on Greek debt crisis heated up.

In late New York trading, the euro dipped to 1.1353 dollars from 1.1368 dollars in the previous session, while the greenback bought 122.64 Japanese yen, lower than 123.08 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell slightly on Friday as the U.S. dollar showed strength.

The most active gold contract for August delivery edged down 0. 1 dollars, or 0.01 percent, to settle at 1,201.90 dollars per ounce. Endite