Stock Market News for June 10, 2015 – Zacks Investment Research
Benchmarks ended Tuesday’s choppy trading session almost unchanged, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average nearing correction territory. The transportation index took a beating mostly due to a drop in airline stocks. The Nasdaq finished in negative territory dragged down by decline in biotech stocks, but the S&P 500 ended in the green boosted by gains in consumer staples and financial shares.
For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined a meager 0.01% to close at 17,764.04. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) gained a meager 0.04% to 2,080.15. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 5,013.87; declining almost 0.2%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) dropped 5.4% to settle at 14.47. A total of about 5.9 billion shares were traded on Tuesday, lower than this month’s average of 6.1 billion. Decliners outpaced advancing stocks on the NYSE. For 62% stocks that declined, 34% advanced.
The Dow Jones Transportation Average declined for the second straight session. The Dow Jones Transportation Average fell 0.3%. Among transportation stocks, airlines stocks were the worst performers. Key airline stocks including JetBlue Airways Corporation (JBLU – Analyst Report), Delta Air Lines, Inc. (DAL – Analyst Report) and Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV – Analyst Report) decreased 0.7%, 0.1% and 4.2%, respectively.
Meanwhile, decline in biotech stocks weighed on the Nasdaq. Biotech stocks such as Biogen Inc. (BIIB – Analyst Report), Amgen Inc. (AMGN – Analyst Report) and Celgene Corporation (CELG – Analyst Report) declined 1.1%, 1.1% and 0.1%, respectively. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (IBB) dropped 1.2%, while the broader Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) declined a meager 0.03%.
Unlike the tech-laden index, the S&P 500 snapped a three session losing streak and ended in the green, boosted by gains in consumer staples and financial stocks. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLP) gained 0.5%, the highest among the S&P 500 sectors.
The Procter & Gamble Company (PG – Analyst Report) gained 1.5%, the most among the consumer staples stocks. Shares of Procter & Gamble moved north after Henkel & Co and Coty Inc made offers to acquire separate parts of the company’s beauty businesses. Other consumer staples stocks including The Coca-Cola Company (KO – Analyst Report), CVS Health Corporation (CVS – Analyst Report) and Philip Morris International, Inc. (PM – Analyst Report) increased 0.1%, 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gained 0.2% and was the second biggest gainer among the S&P 500 sectors. Top holdings from the sector such as Wells Fargo & Company (WFC – Analyst Report), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of America Corporation (BAC – Analyst Report) and Citigroup Inc. (C) increased 1%, 0.4%, 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Possibility of a rate hike sooner than later boosted financial stocks. Upbeat jobs data released last Friday had indicated that rise in interest rates could take place as early as this fall.
Meanwhile, investors continued to keep an eye on economic data for clues on when the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates. Tuesday’s economic report was limited to wholesale inventories. The U.S. Department of Commerce announced that US wholesale inventories rose 0.4% in April after increasing 0.2% in March. This rise in wholesale inventories in April was more than the consensus estimate of a rise of 0.2%.
Investors also remained focused on Greece’s financial condition. Greece needs to pay about 1.5 billion euros this month. However, Greece and its creditors are discussing an extension of the country’s bailout program until Mar 2016 in return for conditions including pension cuts and increase in taxes to be implemented by Athens.
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Stock Market News for June 10, 2015 – Zacks Investment Research
