Stocks are edging lower as energy companies slide along with the price of crude oil. The S&P 500 Index declined 5.8 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 2,098.04. The S&P 500 declined 6 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 2,098, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 13 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 5,115. The euro inched down to $1.0964 from $1.1010.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude shed 70 cents to $46.42 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, near its lowest price in more than four months. The meat producer, which owns the Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage brand, blamed conditions in the beef market for its woes, citing high cattle costs and “export issues”, as factors that were hurting its profits. Tyson Foods slumped after cutting its earnings outlook for the year.
CHINA WEAKNESS: Two recent surveys showed China’s giant manufacturing industry weakened in July, suggesting government efforts to stimulate the world’s No. 2 economy aren’t gaining broad traction.
A gauge of producing in Greece plummeted in July to the bottom studying ever recorded, regardless of enhancements throughout the remainder of the 19-country eurozone.
Telecom company Frontier Communications gained 9 percent as second-quarter revenue rose 19.3 percent to $1.37 billion. A separate survey confirmed that enterprise and shopper confidence fell for a fifth consecutive month in July to its worst degree since October 2012.
“When it comes to just broad-based spending, they’re really watching how they’re spending their dollars”, Paul Buongiorno, chief investment strategist at Tiedemann Wealth Management, said. “The numerous volatility interruptions and the auctions that follow these interruptions hinder the continuous trading for stocks as we know it. There are a lot of orders in the system that are not executable”.
Even after reaching the basis of a deal with its creditors, Greece still has to demonstrate that it can deliver on its pledges for reform, he said. The Institute of Buying Managers’ manufacturing index slipped to 52.7 from 53.5 in June.
He added: “Meanwhile, fresh falls in China and weak PMI figures from that nation act as a reminder that we should now expect volatility as standard in China, both in stock market and economic terms”. Any reading above 50 indicates growth.
Though Monday’s data matters, Friday’s jobs report is seen by many investors as the next big catalyst for US stocks, as it is viewed as be a strong determinant for the Fed’s timing on raising short-term interest rates.
