Wall Street lost more than 1 percent before the close today as market turmoil in China overshadowed Greece's debt crisis, while trading on the New York Stock Exchange resumed after a three-hour halt.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) sank 1.5 percent to 2,048.79 at 3:41 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) declined 1.3 percent to 17,547.37, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dived 1.7 percent to 4,913.14.
The exchange attributed the outage, which it reported at 11:32 a.m., to a technical issue. Buying and selling of NYSE-listed stocks still took place on electronic venues, including the NYSE’s Arca exchange, during the halt. Trading on the NYSE accounts for about 15 percent of volume for S&P 500 stocks during the day, according to Credit Suisse.
U.S. stocks were in the red even before the halt as the slide in Chinese markets spurred concerns over its impact on global economic growth. Chinese shares have fallen more than 30 percent in the last three weeks, and some investors fear China's turmoil is now a bigger risk than the crisis in Greece. Fears of a slowdown in China will be a concern for U.S. companies, especially materials and industrial companies, which derive a chunk of their profit from the region.
Wall Street maintained its losses after the release of minutes of a June Federal Reserve policy meeting in which officials cited Greece's debt crisis as a serious concern and said they needed to see more signs of a strengthening U.S. economy before raising interest rates.
Members of the Federal Open Market Committee “mentioned their uncertainty about whether Greece and its official creditors would reach an agreement and about the likely pace of economic growth abroad, particularly China and other emerging market economies,” according minutes of June 16-17 meeting.
Meanwhile, Greece is working against the clock on a package of proposed reforms to convince European leaders headed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that it can keep the euro. The country has until midnight Thursday in Brussels to present measures to reform its economy and cut spending in exchange for a new European bailout.
MOVERS:
ADRs of Novartis (NYSE:NVS) fluctuated and was last slid 0.1 percent to $99.08. The drug maker got FDA approval for its Entresto heart failure drug, after a study showed that it significantly reduced the risk of death.
Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) fluctuated and was last up 0.3 percent at $22.85. People with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg the company is nearing a deal to sell its Veritas data-storage business to Carlyle Group LP for as much as $8 billion.
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) wavered and was last up 0.1 percent at $44.35 after the New York Times reported the company plans to announce a new round of layoffs to cut costs further.
Alcoa (NYSE:AA) lost 5.6 percent to $10.44. The largest aluminum producer unofficially kicks off the quarterly earnings season when it reports after markets close today.
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) slipped 4.2 percent to $16.52 as commodity prices extended a slump amid waning demand from China, the largest consumer of industrial metals.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 4.7 percent to $255.36. The maker of electric cars was cut to Sector Weight from Overweight at Pacific Crest, which said it still considers the automaker's technology "disruptive" but that valuation is getting full.
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) slipped 0.7 percent to $81.13. The provider of consumer packaged goods will change the packaging of some Olay skin-care products as part of a settlement with California prosecutors, who had accused the company of misleading consumers by selling jars of face cream in packaging that was at times much larger than the contents. The company also agreed to pay $850,000 in civil penalties and costs.
The Container Store Group (NYSE:TCS) inched up 4.3 percent to $18.26 after the storage products retailer reported a narrower-than-expected loss in its fiscal first quarter.
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) skidded 1.8 percent to $104.48. The pharmacy company is quitting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, citing conflicting stances with the powerful lobbying group regarding smoking.
CarMax (NYSE:KMX) slipped 1.3 percent to $65.66. The auto retailer's shares were upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Goldman Sachs, saying the 11 percent drop since an April high has created an attractive entry point.
COMMODITIES:
U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled up $10.9 at $1,163.50 an ounce.
U.S. oil prices closed down 1.3 percent at $51.56 a barrel. That was its lowest settlement since April 10.