World stock markets slipped and the euro fell on Friday, as investors practiced caution ahead of the weekend meeting in Brussels that could decide the fate of Greece.
World stock markets slipped and the euro fell on Friday, as investors practiced caution ahead of the weekend meeting in Brussels that could decide the fate of Greece.
The S&P 500 ended nearly flat, though shares of U.S. chipmakers fell after a weak forecast from Micron Technology Inc.
Greece rejected a five-month extension of bailouts this week before Eurozone finance ministers will meet to decide the country's fate. Now the Greek Prime Minister has called for a referendum on the bailout plan on July 5. The country needs new funding to avoid defaulting on a $1.7 billion debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 30. If it defaults, it may have to leave the euro amongst other serious recuperations for the rest of the world.
"If this issue gets resolved, then we're set up for a fairly decent market, but it could be that everything falls apart on the 30th," said James Meyer, chief investment officer at Tower Bridge Advisers in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. "Market valuation is high in an absolute sense."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.66 points, or 0.32%, to 17,947.02, the S&P 500 lost 0.7 points, or 0.03%, to 2,101.61 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 31.69 points, or 0.62%, to 5,080.51. The PHLX Semiconductor index fell 2.4%.
For the week, both the Dow and S&P 500 fell 0.4% while the Nasdaq fell 0.7%.
MSCI's all-country index, a gauge of stock performance in 46 countries, dipped 0.3%, and was down for a third day, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 0.1% to 1,574.08 points.
The ongoing Greek debt talks left currency markets in tight ranges while policymakers traded barbs before more Greek talks.
The euro last traded at $1.1163, off 0.37% on the day and down 1.65% for the week late in the New York session.
Treasury yields jump
U.S. long-dated bond yields rose to near nine-month highs, however, optimism that a Greece deal would be reached curbed demand for safe-haven U.S. debt. U.S. 30-year Treasury yields hit 3.26%, its highest level since October 3.
U.S. 30-year Treasuries were last down 1-24/32 in price to yield 3.25%, from a yield of 3.16% late Thursday. Benchmark 10-year notes were last down 24/32 in price to yield 2.48%, from a yield of 2.39% late Thursday.
In commodities trading, gold was little changed, after falling to a three-week low, on short-covering at the end of the week and caution ahead of the crunch talks on Greece this weekend. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,171.55 an ounce.
Crude futures ended little changed after signs of a deal for Greece, while Iran faced continued difficulty in securing a nuclear agreement to end sanctions on its oil exports. Brent settled up 6 cents, or 0.1%, at $63.26 a barrel. U.S. crude settled down 7 cents, or 0.1%, at $59.63.
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