The U.S. stock markets declined on Friday except the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), up 0.31% to 17,946.68 points today. The S&P 500 declined 0.04% to 2,101.49 points, the NASDAQ dropped 0.62% to 5,080.51 points and the Russell 2000 fell 0.27% to 1,278.79 points.
Today, semiconductor companies experienced a sell-off. In an interview with Bloomberg, Tim Ghriskey, managing director and chief investment officer at Solaris Management commented, “The selloff here seems to be more in tech than anywhere else, which could be weighing on the market overall. Traders are taking money off the table in front of the weekend and perhaps even quarter-end as we head into earnings season and a short week.”
The University of Michigan reported that its final index of consumer confidence rose to 96.1% in June from 90.7% last month. Consumer spending was boosted by several factors including the continued improvement of the labor market, stabilizing oil prices and near-record stock prices.
David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance told Bloomberg, “Consumers are feeling confident about their job and income prospects. Consumer spending is going to look pretty good in the second quarter.”
Investors still watching Greece debt talks
Investors are still watching the progress in the debt talks between Greece and its international creditors. The finance ministers in the European region are considering a five-month extension of the bailout with a $17.3 billion financial aid package for Greece.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel said the proposed five-month bailout extension for Greece was “very generous,” but Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras considered the terms in the financial aid package as a “blackmail” and “ultimatum.”
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington commented, “At this moment it is really mostly about how, not whether the Greek government agrees to the demands, as the technical negotiations have in my opinion reached their conclusion.”
Stock market gainers and losers
The stock price of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) increased 4.27% to $109.71 per share. The company reported that strong financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter. Its earnings rose 26% to 0.98 per share and revenue climbed 5% to $7.8 billion.
Finish Line Inc (NASDAQ:FINL) gained 4.63% to $28.25 per share. The company posted second quarter earnings of $0.30 per share on $443.4 million revenue. Wall Street analysts expected the company to deliver earnings of $0.27 per share on $439.55 million revenue.
The stock value of Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) dropped 18.15% to %19.66 per share. The company reported disappointing financial results for the third quarter due to market headwinds primarily the weakness of the PC sector. Micron Technology posted $0.54 in earnings per share, lower than the $0.56 per share expected by analysts.
Zoetis Inc (NYSE:ZTS) declined 12.19% to $48.62 per share. The Wall Street Journal reported that the animal health company received a takeover proposal from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE:VRX). Analysts at BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed their Buy rating for VRX stock, down 1.88% to $228.83 per share today.
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