Stocks drop amid Greek impasse
Stocks are giving back some of yesterday's gains as attention returns to the Greek debt impasse.
S&P 500 futures are down 0.6 percent, similar to moves across the Atlantic. Tokyo and Shanghai fell about 1 percent overnight to lead losses in Asia, but Seoul climbed half a percent after automotive and semiconductor demand caused industrial production to crush estimates. Commodities and currencies are showing risk aversion.
A strong technical bounce lifted the S&P 500 more than 1 percent on Monday. It's squeezed into a tightening range for the last month as investors adjust to the idea of gradual interest-rate increases by the Federal Reserve. Economic data has been mixed since the autumn, with steady employment gains but slowing in the industrial sector.
This morning's pullback comes after talks between Greece and international lenders ended without a deal. Other events today are the Case-Shiller index of home prices at 9 a.m. ET, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index at 9:45 a.m. ET, and consumer confidence at 10 a.m. ET. Strong pending home sales were the big surprise yesterday, which helped sustain an emerging rally among the builders.
optionMONSTER's researchLAB market scanner has also shown strength recently in chemical stocks, providers of network security, packaged foods, biotechnology and commercial real-estate agencies.
In company-specific news, reinsurer Montpelier Re will probably climb after accepting a $1.83 billion takeover by Endurance Specialty. Johnson Controls may also gain after a business to CBRE for $1.5 billion.
There are other noteworthy items this week. Tomorrow brings ADP's private-sector payrolls report and the Institute for Supply Management's key industrial index, plus pre-market earnings from Monsanto and results after the closing bell from Micron Technology. The other big event is non-farm payrolls Friday, although the market will be closed that day for Good Friday.
Oil fell 2 percent, copper slid 1 percent and precious metals are down only fractionally. Currencies associated with risk--the euro, Australian dollar, and Canadian dollar--are down across the board while the safe-haven Japanese yen is bouncing.
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