Investing.com - U.S. shares closed lower Monday as fears of Greece leaving the euro zone weighed on risk sentiment triggering a flight to safer assets
Near the open of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.98%, the S&P 500 fell 1.11%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.06%.
Fuelling the selling on Sunday, Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s largest anti-bailout party Syriza, rejected calls to join a coalition government, fuelling fears that a fresh round of elections is becoming inevitable and casting the country’s ability to uphold its fiscal commitments into doubt.
Meanwhile, Spanish and Italian government bond auctions saw borrowing costs rise.
In German news, Angela Merkel’s political party lost an election in Germany’s most populous state triggering fears of the Social Democrats unseating Merkel’s political party in upcoming elections.
Spain sold EUR2.9 billion of 12 and 18-month bonds, slightly below its maximum target of EUR3 billion. The yield on the 12-month bonds rose to 2.98%, from 2.62% previously, while the yield on the 18-month bonds increased to 3.3%, from 3.11%.
In Italy, the Treasury raised a total of EUR5.25 billion euros, meeting the top of a planned issue range of EUR3.50-5.25 billion euros, at an average 3.91% yield, the highest since January but below market levels of around 4% at the time of the auction.
In other news Monday, official data indicated that industrial production in the euro zone fell unexpectedly in March, adding to fears over the health of the region’s economy.
Eurostat, the European statistics agency said industrial production dipped by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in March, defying expectations for a 0.4% increase.
Facebook has been overwhelmed with demand for its IPO. It has planned to stop taking orders on Tuesday, two days ahead of schedule due to heavy demand.
Banks led the decline with Citigroup giving back 3.1%, Bank of America falling 1.1% and Morgan Stanley dropped 3.2% on the session due to Greek fears and the JP Morgan trade fiasco.
Advanced Auto Parts fell 5.6% after being downgraded to neutral by Cleveland Research.
Ancestry.com was crushed 14% lower after NBC decided not to renew the “Who Do You Think You Are” reality show.
In bullish news, Avon Products climbed 4.6% after Coty stated it will lift its takeover offer for the cosmetic company.
Best Buy climbed 1.8% after the founder agreed to step down after a employee scandal.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 2.33%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 2.29%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 1.94% and the FTSE 100 gave back 1.97%.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. retail sales numbers, CPI and the German ZEW Economic Sentiment figures on Tuesday.
Near the open of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.98%, the S&P 500 fell 1.11%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.06%.
Fuelling the selling on Sunday, Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s largest anti-bailout party Syriza, rejected calls to join a coalition government, fuelling fears that a fresh round of elections is becoming inevitable and casting the country’s ability to uphold its fiscal commitments into doubt.
Meanwhile, Spanish and Italian government bond auctions saw borrowing costs rise.
In German news, Angela Merkel’s political party lost an election in Germany’s most populous state triggering fears of the Social Democrats unseating Merkel’s political party in upcoming elections.
Spain sold EUR2.9 billion of 12 and 18-month bonds, slightly below its maximum target of EUR3 billion. The yield on the 12-month bonds rose to 2.98%, from 2.62% previously, while the yield on the 18-month bonds increased to 3.3%, from 3.11%.
In Italy, the Treasury raised a total of EUR5.25 billion euros, meeting the top of a planned issue range of EUR3.50-5.25 billion euros, at an average 3.91% yield, the highest since January but below market levels of around 4% at the time of the auction.
In other news Monday, official data indicated that industrial production in the euro zone fell unexpectedly in March, adding to fears over the health of the region’s economy.
Eurostat, the European statistics agency said industrial production dipped by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in March, defying expectations for a 0.4% increase.
Facebook has been overwhelmed with demand for its IPO. It has planned to stop taking orders on Tuesday, two days ahead of schedule due to heavy demand.
Banks led the decline with Citigroup giving back 3.1%, Bank of America falling 1.1% and Morgan Stanley dropped 3.2% on the session due to Greek fears and the JP Morgan trade fiasco.
Advanced Auto Parts fell 5.6% after being downgraded to neutral by Cleveland Research.
Ancestry.com was crushed 14% lower after NBC decided not to renew the “Who Do You Think You Are” reality show.
In bullish news, Avon Products climbed 4.6% after Coty stated it will lift its takeover offer for the cosmetic company.
Best Buy climbed 1.8% after the founder agreed to step down after a employee scandal.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 2.33%, France’s CAC 40 plunged 2.29%, while Germany’s DAX 30 dropped 1.94% and the FTSE 100 gave back 1.97%.
Investors are awaiting the U.S. retail sales numbers, CPI and the German ZEW Economic Sentiment figures on Tuesday.