U.S. stocks mixed, eyes on Greece; Dow Jones down 0.09%

Investing.com

Published Feb 21, 2012 09:57AM ET

Investing.com - U.S. stocks were mixed on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious after euro zone leaders approved a long-awaited bailout deal for Greece.

During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09%, the S&P 500 index added edged down 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.09%.

Euro zone finance ministers agreed earlier on a EUR130 billion bailout for Greece to avert a sovereign debt default in March after persuading private bondholders to take greater losses and Athens to commit to deep cuts.

But investors remained wary amid uncertainty over Greece’s ability to meet the terms of the deal and pay off even its reduced debt burden.

Meanwhile, the Troika, which is composed of the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, said in its latest report on Greece's debt sustainability that "additional debt relief" will be required in the future.

U.S. lenders were broadly higher, tracking their European counterparts. Goldman Sachs rose 0.83% and Bank of America added 0.50%, while JP Morgan and Citigroup advanced 0.34% and 0.36%.

In the energy sector, AES Corp saw shares rise 0.51% as the first U.S. power producer is looking to sell all or some assets in China, while URS Corp jumped 6.75% after saying it will buy Canadian oilfield services company Flint Energy Services for CAD1.25 billion, to expand its presence in the oil and gas sector.

Meanwhile, Chevron shares climbed 1.12% after a court in Ecuador rejected an order by arbitrators that an USD18 billion pollution ruling against the company should be frozen. The judges referred an appeal by the U.S. oil company to the country's Supreme Court.

In earnings news, Kraft shares jumped 1.18% after the company posted results that met forecasts.

Macy's was also up 2.51% after the department store chain posted earnings that topped estimates and said it expects further sales gains this year.

On the downside, shares in Wal-Mart tumbled 4.27% after the big-box retailers reported earnings that were below expectations as the firm cut prices to lure more shoppers during the holiday season.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 0.89%, France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.76%, Germany's DAX declined 1.03%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dropped 0.47%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.3%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index shed 0.23%.


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