A television monitor carries news of the “No” vote on the Greek debt referendum as a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, July 6, 2015, in New York. U.S. stocks are opening lower after Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject the terms of the country’s latest bailout. AP PHOTO/MARK LENNIHAN
NEW YORK–US stocks fell moderately Monday, joining most global bourses in moving lower after the Greek vote against further austerity measures raised fears the country could exit the eurozone.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 46.53 (0.26 percent) to 17,683.58.
The broad-based S&P 500 shed 8.02 (0.39 percent) at 2,068.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 17.27 (0.34 percent) to 4,991.94.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the door was open for a return to debt negotiations with Greece, but called on Athens to make “serious” proposals after Greek voters decisively voted down additional austerity measures sought by creditors.
The drop in US stocks was modest compared with declines in leading European equity markets and in the oil market. US oil prices fell nearly eight percent.
“Possibly what the market is saying is either the expectation for a ‘no’ vote and for an exit are already priced into the US market, or the expectation is whatever happens in Greece related to Europe won’t adversely affect US growth,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at S&P Capital IQ.
Petroleum-linked stocks fell, including Dow member Chevron (-1.2 percent), producer Apache (-2.3 percent) and oil-services giant Halliburton (-2.8 percent).
Among Dow members, Wal-Mart Stores gained 0.9 percent to lead the blue-chip index, but General Electric fell 1.8 percent and Intel lost 1.7 percent.
Health insurer Humana gained 0.9 percent after unveiling a $37 billion deal to be acquired by rival Aetna. Aetna fell 6.4 percent.
Anthem and Cigna, two other health insurers that have been seen as possible merger partners, both fell. Anthem lost 0.9 percent, while Cigna fell 0.8 percent.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.29 percent from 2.38 percent Thursday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.09 percent from 3.19 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.