BLBG: U.S. Index Futures Fall Amid Greek Talks Before Factory Orders
U.S. stock-index futures fell, after equities advanced for the first time in three sessions, as investors weighed the possibility of progress in Greece’s debt talks before data on factory orders.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index E-mini contracts expiring in June slipped 0.2 percent to 2,104.50 at 8:33 a.m. in New York. Futures pared losses of as much as 0.7 percent after representatives of Greek creditors were said to be finalizing a proposal. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 20 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,003. Nasdaq 100 Index contracts slid 0.2 percent.
“Greece creates uncertainty and it is a good reason for the markets to consolidate,” said Christian Gattiker, head of research at Julius Baer Group Ltd. in Zurich. Stocks will continue to fall today “unless we really see a breakthrough with the negotiations with Greece or a breakdown, but it is hard to believe anything happens before Friday.”
Airlines dropped after CNBC reported, citing NBC, multiple bomb threats were phoned into airports against U.S. aircraft. Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. lost at least 0.8 percent.
European leaders and the head of the International Monetary Fund agreed to step up the intensity of talks over Greece’s fate after a meeting in Berlin on how to prevent the Mediterranean nation defaulting. The Greek government, which said it hasn’t received any draft plan, has submitted its own proposal aimed at breaking the deadlock, according to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Factory Data
Greece faces a debt repayment to the IMF on Friday. While the country claims it can make the payment, it’s the smallest of four totaling almost 1.6 billion euros ($1.75 billion) this month.
Investors will also continue to assess economic data for potential clues on on the timing of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase. Factory orders, due at 10 a.m., contracted 0.1 percent in April, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
Labor market reports on private payrolls growth, jobless claims and the government’s monthly non-farm payrolls data are all due later this week. The economy added 227,000 jobs in May, compared with April’s 223,000, and the unemployment rate will remain at 5.4 percent, economists predict.
The central bank has indicated that any increase in borrowing costs would be shallow and gradual. Economists forecast the Fed will raise rates in September.
