European shares settle at their lowest level for 2012 as the attempts to form a Greek coalition government collapses.
The Dow Index slid 63.35 points to close at 12,632 while the S&P 500 weakened by 7.69 points to finish at 1,330.66. Earlier in the session the Dax dropped 0.8 percent to settle at 6401.
The euro dropped against the dollar for the 12th straight day after Greek politicians officially called for new elections to break a stalemate over forming a new coalition government, this is its lowest level since the 17th January. EURUSD (see above chart) traded down from overnight highs of 1.2871 to as low as 1.2724 recently.
On the economic front, the German GDP grew 0.5 percent in the first quarter as exports helped the economy bounce back from a contraction in the previous quarter. Meanwhile the New York Federal Reserve released figures that showed that the Empire State manufacturing index rebounded in May.
The Commerce Department numbers showed that US Consumer prices were flat in April, in line with economists’ expectations, while retail sales edged up slightly as the boost from an unusually warm winter faded.
Gold has continued to show signs of weakness as it slipped to a fresh four month low overnight as the euro continued to lose ground to the dollar after Greece’s political failure has led investors to reject risky assets.
INDICES
Last Traded
SPI 200 future 4241
S&P500 Index 1330.65
Dow Jones 12632.00
FTSE 100 Index 5437.62
COMMODITIES
Last Traded
Gold 1543
Oil (Nymex) 93.98
CURRENCIES
Last Traded
AUDUSD 0.9940
EURUSD 1.2734
GBPUSD 1.5999
USDJPY 80.20
Source
Bloomberg, Dow Jones News
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