U.S. shares fall for sixth session on euro zone fears;Dow down 0.75%
Published May 09, 2012 04:28PM ET
Near the open of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.75%, the S&P 500 fell 0.67%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.39%.
Stocks came under heavy selling pressure amid mounting worries that a fresh round of elections in Greece is inevitable as attempts to form a coalition government meet with failure.
On Tuesday, Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s second-biggest party Syriza, stated that Greece's financial aid package is null and void, fuelling concerns over a disorderly Greek default or possible exit from the single currency bloc.
Meanwhile, speculation swirled that Spain is set to announce plans to support its banking system. The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose above 6% earlier, reflecting investor concerns over holding riskier assets.
Investors also remained concerned over whether French president-elect Francois Hollande’s focus on growth rather than austerity measures as a means to tackle the crisis could spark tensions with Germany.
However, in stock bullish news, official data indicated that German exports and imports both hit record highs in March, fuelling hopes that the euro zone’s largest economy is weathering the effects of the debt crisis.
The Federal Statistics Office reported exports increased by 0.9% to EUR91.8 billion, while imports rose 1.2% to EUR78.1 billion.
Arena Pharmaceuticals gained 8.4% after being upgraded at BMO Capital Markets.
Blue Nile, the online luxury retailer, added 13% after forecasting 2012 revenue beating analysts estimates.
Demand Media surged 18%, after the domain name business projected earnings that beat analysts by USD0.01 per share.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 closed down 0.47%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.20% but Germany’s DAX gained 0.47%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.44%.
Investors are anticipating Bernanke’s speech, U.S trade balance and initial jobless claims on Thursday. As well as Great Britain’s interest rate decision.
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Written By: Investing.com
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