As Greece talks drag, stocks fall
NEW YORK — Uncertainty surrounding Greece’s debts knocked the U. S. stock market lower Thursday as an impasse between Greece and its creditors continued.
The drop put major indexes on track for a weekly loss. Oil and gas stocks had some of the biggest losses as the price of crude sank 3 percent.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 18.23 points, or 0.9 percent, to finish at 2,095.84. All 10 industry groups in the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell, with DuPont and other materials companies leading the way down.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 170.69 points, or 0.9 percent, to 17,905.58; and the Nasdaq composite lost 40.11 points, or 0.8 percent, to 5,059.12.
Major indexes headed lower at the outset of trading, briefly returned to positive territory, then lost ground throughout the afternoon.
Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Trust, said he thinks Greece and its creditors eventually will reach an agreement that allows the country to receive new loans. But just the possibility that Greece could default on its debts and become the first country to drop the euro currency makes investors nervous. “It creates a tremendous amount of anxiety because we don’t have a playbook,” Smith said. “It just hasn’t happened before.”
Before the market opened, J. M. Smucker reported a loss in its latest quarter even though sales climbed. The maker of Folger’s coffee said higher prices for coffee beans and a strong dollar pinched results. Smucker’s stock fell $ 4.44, or 4 percent, to $ 113.75.
A report that Dish Network is talking to T- Mobile US about a possible merger sent both stocks up. The Wall Street Journal said that the two sides have yet to nail down crucial details, including a purchase price. Dish’s stock jumped $ 3.44, or 5 percent, to $ 74.25, while T- Mobile’s surged $ 1.01, or 3 percent, to $ 39.34.
A meeting Wednesday between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the head of the European Union’s executive arm ran into the early- morning hours Thursday yet failed to yield an agreement to release vital loans. Later Thursday, Greece told the International Monetary Fund that it would postpone a payment due today and bundle it together with three other payments at the end of the month.
Major European markets finished broadly lower, erasing gains made earlier in the week. Germany’s DAX sank 0.7 percent, while the CAC- 40 in France fell 0.9 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares lost 1.3 percent. Greece’s main index slumped 1.3 percent.
“It looks like investors put a bit too much stock in the … meeting last night,” said Connor Campbell, a trader at Spreadex.
The price of oil fell nearly 3 percent on expectations that OPEC will decide to keep its output high at its meeting today in Vienna. Benchmark U. S. crude fell $ 1.64 to close at $ 58 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oil used by many U. S. refineries, fell $ 1.77 to close at $ 62.03 a barrel in London.