Roundup: U.S. stocks decline after Greek vote
Xinhua, July 7, 2015 Adjust font size:
U.S. stocks closed lower Monday as Wall Street sentiment was weighed on after Greeks rejected creditors' bailout proposals in a referendum held in Greece Sunday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 46.53 points, or 0.26 percent, to 17,683.58. The S&P 500 lost 8.02 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,068.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 17.27 points, or 0.34 percent, to 4,991.94.
In Sunday's referendum, more than 61 percent of Greeks voted " no", rejecting proposals from international creditors that included pension cuts, tax increases and other measures.
Analysts said the "no" vote increases the likelihood that Greece may eventually exit the eurozone.
Following the vote, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis resigned Monday. The reason he cited was a preference by his country's creditors of not having him in future negotiations.
Greece appointed Euclid Tsakalotos, the deputy foreign minister of international economic affairs and chief coordinator of the country's negotiating team over a debt deal with lenders, as the new finance minister Monday.
Finance ministers from eurozone countries are expecting new proposals from Greece in Tuesday's talks, Eurogroup said in a statement Monday.
European shares finished sharply lower following Greek news Monday, with French benchmark index CAC 40 dropping 2.01 percent.
In Asia, Chinese equities showed signs of stabilization Monday as China tried to underpin a stock market plagued by repeated plunges, with the Shanghai Composite Index rising 2.41 percent.
On the economic front, the Non-Manufacturing Index registered 56.0 percent in June, 0.3 percentage point higher than the May reading of 55.7 percent, in line with market consensus, said the Institute Supply Management in its monthly survey Monday.
"The ISM non-manufacturing index has remained solidly in expansionary territory (above 50) but has softened, with the 2015 average at 56.6 compared to the second half of 2014 average of 57. 8," said Sophia Kearney-Lederman, an economic analyst at FTN Financial, in a note.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, ticked up 1.31 percent to end at 17.01 Monday.
In other markets, oil prices plummeted Monday after Greece rejected debt bailout terms.
The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery moved down 4.4 U.S dollars to settle at 52.53 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery decreased 3.78 dollars to close at 56.54 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.
The U.S. dollar climbed against the euro as Greeks voted to reject the county's debt bailout terms.
In late New York trading, the euro fell to 1.1051 dollars from 1.1114 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 122.45 Japanese yen, lower than 122.79 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as the crisis in Greece drove investors to gold as a safe haven.
The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 9.7 dollars, or 0.83 percent, to settle at 1,173.20 dollars per ounce. Endite