Stock Market News For June 06, 2017

Benchmarks finished lower on Monday, marginally below record levels, primarily dragged down by decline in shares of Apple. Investors remained focused on geopolitical issues emanating from the terrorist attacks in London and the scheduled public testimony of former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey. Meanwhile, investors also digested a bag of economic data.

For a look at the issues currently facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.1% to close at 21,184.04. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% to close at 2,436.10. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2% to close at 6,295.68, retreating from an all-time intraday high. A total of around 5.5 billion shares were traded on Monday, lower than the last 20-session average of 6.6 billion shares. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) traded near 10.1. Decliners outnumbered advancing stocks on the NYSE by a 1.64 to 1 ratio.

Apple Drags Markets Down

Apple’s Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) decline shaved roughly 10 points from the blue-chip index, which snapped a two-day winning streak. The S&P 500’s drop marked its biggest drop since May 17.

The iPhone maker’s shares declined 1% after Pacific Crest downgraded the tech-giant from overweight to sector weight. The company was downgraded by analyst Andy Hargreaves on the ground that high stock price does not account for risks of gross margins and shortages in supply with the iPhone 8. Hargreaves also warned of a possible slowdown in demand for the new device.

Geopolitical Tensions

Investors remained cautious on the upcoming testimony from former FBI director James Comey regarding President Trump campaign's possible connection with Russia. Comey is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday which is going to be his first appearance before the public since Trump dismissed him on May 9.

Additionally, investors kept a close watch on terrorist attacks that were carried out in London ahead of the U.K. election. The Saturday evening’s terrorist attacks left at least seven people dead and scores injured. Investors also focused on the U.K. election scheduled to be held on Thursday to see whether Euro-skeptic Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party will be able to keep its majority in parliament intact.

Economic Data

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new orders for manufactured goods in April came in line with consensus estimate, which decreased 0.2% to $469 billion. This followed a 0.2% increase in March. The inventories-to-shipments ratio remained at 1.38, unchanged from March.

As per the Institute for Supply Management, nonmanufacturing index declined 0.6 points to 56.9% in May. However, the index came above the consensus estimate of 56.4.

Stocks that made Headlines

D.R. Horton Offers $520 Million to Buy Out Forestar

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI) intends to buy 75% shares of Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) , a residential and mixed-use real estate development company, for about $520 million in cash. (Read More)

AT&T's Latest Buyout to Boost its SD-WAN and White Box Suite

U.S. telecom behemoth AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) has unveiled its plans to purchase the Vyatta network operating system and associated assets of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD) . (Read More)

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