Wall Street swung to losses following reports of violent protests in Greece after keeping within a narrow range of gains for most of the session as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signalled the central bank remains on track to raise interest rates this year.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) dropped 0.2 percent to 2,105.60 at 3:48 p.m. in New York The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) inched down 0.1 percent to 18,030.06, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) slid 0.2 percent to 5,094.57.
Riot police fired tear gas to disperse crowds gathered in Syntagma Square, across the road from the Greek parliament, around 9:15 p.m. local time. Lawmakers are due to vote on the bailout bill, which will endorse tax increases and spending cuts, by about midnight.
A strengthening U.S. economy and waning risks from Greece and China are keeping the Fed on track for a rate increase this year. Yellen, in testimony delivered today before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, again emphasized that the timing of the first rate rise is less important than the subsequent path of increases, which she said would be gradual.
DATA:
Producer Prices Forecasts issued by the Federal Open Market Committee in June implied two quarter-point rate rises this year, followed by a shallower path of increases than officials predicted in March.
Data today showed wholesale prices in the U.S. climbed more than forecast in June as the cost of fuel picked up. A separate report showed factory output was little changed in June for a second month, held back by a decline in motor vehicle production.
MOVERS:
Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) rose 3.5 percent to $17.73 after second-quarter earnings topped expectations. Revenue also came in above estimates.
Celgene (NASDAQ:CELG) rose 6.7 percent to $131.02 as the U.S. biotechnology company agreed to acquire Receptos (NASDAQ:RCPT) for $7.2 billion.
PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ:PYPLV) rose 1.0 percent to $37.30 after Standard & Poor’s Financial Services announced the payments company will join the S&P 100 and the S&P 500 indexes, replacing EBay Inc. and Noble Corp.
LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) jumped 1.8 percent to $217.65. Barclays upgraded the business social network to "overweight" from "equal weight," evaluating the issues that impacted results during the first quarter are cyclical and not structural.
Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) fell 2.9 percent to $88.91 after the owner of Pizza Hut and KFC reported its fourth straight quarter of falling sales, indicating that the company is still struggling to regain lost ground in China after a food scandal last year.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) advanced 1.2 percent to $346.71 as the world's largest money manager reported earnings ahead of forecasts.
Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) dropped 0.5 percent to $43.86. The Atlanta, Georgia-based carrier reported that second-quarter profit jumped 85 percent, topping expectations, but forecast a third-quarter drop in unit revenue.
CSX (NYSE:CSX) gained 1.0 percent to $32.38. CSX reported quarterly profit of $0.56 per share, $0.03 above estimates, with the railroad operator's revenue very slightly below analyst forecasts.
Allegheny Technologies (NYSE:ATI) tumbled 7.1 percent to $26.16 after warning it expects to post a loss in the second quarter, citing poor demand from energy markets and increased competition in its flat-rolled products segment.
COMMODITIES:
Gold for August delivery shed 0.5 percent to settle at $1,147.40 an ounce on Comex for a fifth straight session loss. Prices haven’t settled at a level this low since early November.
August crude fell 3.1 percent to settle at $51.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
OTHER MARKETS:
European stocks rose ahead of the vote in the Greek Parliament that could unlock a much-needed international bailout. Germany’s DAX added 0.2 percent and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.3 percent.