Stocks Close Mostly Lower Amid Concerns About Greece - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the pullback seen last Friday, stocks saw some further downside over the course of the trading day on Monday. With the losses on the day, the major averages slid back into negative territory for the New Year.

The major averages ended the day in the red but off their lows for the session. The Dow slid 95.08 points or 0.5 percent to 17,729.21, the Nasdaq fell 18.39 points or 0.4 percent to 4,726.01 and the S&P 500 dropped 8.73 points or 0.4 percent to 2,046.74.

The weakness on Wall Street was partly due to concerns about the situation in Greece, which remains in debt negotiations with the other countries in the eurozone.

In a speech to parliament, new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reiterated his pre-election pledge to roll back austerity and reject an extension of the international bailout.

Declaring "the bailout failed," Tsipras promised to raise the minimum wage, pay a pension bonus and rehire public workers.

Peter Boockvar, managing director at the Lindsey Group, said, "Tsipras' talk to his parliament on Sunday did not sound like a man of compromise."

"He is still hoping for a bridge loan that will take them past the expiration of the February 28th bailout into June to give time to further negotiate but the head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem said 'we don't do bridging loans,'" he added.

The latest news out of Greece raised concerns that the country could exit from the eurozone, potentially destabilizing the currency bloc.

Nonetheless, selling pressure remained somewhat subdued, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines.

While the economic calendar remains relatively light throughout the week, traders are likely to keep an eye on reports on weekly jobless claims, retail sales, and consumer sentiment.

Sector News

Airline stocks turned in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.8 percent. With the drop, the index ended the session at its lowest closing level in over a month.

Within the airline sector, SkyWest (SKYW), United Continental (UAL), and Republic Airways (RJET) posted notable losses.

Considerable weakness also emerged among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 percent loss posted by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. Alliance One (AOI) helped to lead the sector lower, tumbling by 6.4 percent.

Railroad, health care, and semiconductor stocks also came under pressure on the day, while strength was visible among steel, gold and oil service stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index plummeted by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.9 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction throughout much of the session before closing slightly lower. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its prices, inched up by 1 basis point to 1.948 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading activity may be somewhat subdued on Tuesday amid another relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front.

On the earnings front, Coca-Cola (KO), CVS Health (CVS), Dean Foods (DF), and Molson Coors (TAP) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results before the start of trading on Tuesday.