Stocks Stuck in Neutral After Five-Day Run
FOX Business: The Power to Prosper
Wall Street took a breather after the best winning streak in two years as traders weighed fresh euro zone debt concerns and relatively upbeat economic data.
Today's Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.9 points, or 0.1%, to 12,570, the S&P 500 slipped 1.8 points, or 0.13%, to 1,338 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 9.7 points, or 0.35%, to 2,826. The FOX 50 gained 0.27 point to 937.
The major market averages soared more than 5% last week -- the best performance since mid-July 2009. The rally was led by fading concerns over the Greek sovereign debt crisis and better-than-expected new on the U.S. manufacturing sector.
Factory orders ticked higher by 0.8% in May, after falling 0.9% the prior month, according to the Commerce Department. Wall Street was expecting the gauge of manufacturing to have gained 1% over the month. Manufacturing had been negatively affected by several factors in recent months, specifically high energy prices and supply chain disruptions caused by the tsunami and earthquake that slammed Japan in March.
Besides Tuesday's release, much of the economic data on tap for the rest of the week will relate to the labor market. The highly-watched monthly employment report from the Labor Department, due for release on Friday, is expected to show the economy added 94,000 jobs last month, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 9.1%.
Moody's slashed Portugal's credit rating four notches, launching the country two tiers into junk territory. The ratings company noted concerns over Portugal's ability to reduce spending, issues raising funds in capital markets, and an increased chance of a second bailout as reasons for the downgrade.
The move shook the foreign exchange market and reinvigorated concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, sending the euro sliding 0.89% against the U.S. dollar. The greenback gained 0.63% against a basket of world currencies.
Energy markets added to gains from last week as crude oil jumped to a two-week high amid hopes a rebounding economy would prop up demand for oil.
Light, sweet crude was up $1.95, or 2.1%, to $96.89 a barrel. Wholesale RBOB gasoline gained less than a penny to $2.98 a gallon.
Prices at the pump have essentially held steady over the past week. A gallon of regular costs $3.56 on average nationwide, down from $3.76 last month, but well higher than the $2.72 drivers paid last year.
Gold jumped $30.10, or 2%, to $1,513 a troy ounce. Silver leaped $1.71, or 5.1%, to $35.41 a troy ounce.
Corporate News
Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares jumped more than 5% to an all-time high after the video rental company announced it would begin streaming service in Latin America and the Caribbean later this year.
Western Union (NYSE:WU) unveiled plans to acquire Travelex's Global Business Payments unit for roughly $969 million.
Immucor (NASDAQ:BLUD) agreed to be taken private for $1.97 billion by private equity group TPG Capital, sending shares soaring.
Energy Transfer (NYSE:ETE) boosted its bid for Southern Union (NYSE:SUG) by 21% to roughly $5 billion, beating out a $4.9 billion offer by Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB).
Foreign Markets
The English FTSE 100 rose 0.11% to 6,024, the French CAC 40 fell 0.61% to 3,979 and the German DAX increased 0.05% to 7,439.
In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 inched 0.07% higher and the Chinese Hang Seng fell 0.1% to 22,748.