US: Stocks follow European equities lower

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks on Tuesday finished lower, following European markets downward after political turmoil in Greece revived worries about the eurozone.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 55.16 points (0.31 per cent) to fall below 18,000 at 17,983.07.

The broad-based S&P 500 dropped 10.22 (0.49 per cent) to 2,080.35, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 29.47 (0.61 per cent) to 4,777.44.

Equity markets in Britain, France and Germany each fell more than 1.2 per cent after Greece's Prime Minister said a snap election for president planned for January 25 would determine whether the country leaves the eurozone.

US consumer confidence rose in December, while home-price increases were more modest in October, data showed.

Analysts said trade was limited ahead of Thursday's New Years holiday.

"Basically, the volume is light and there is no specific theme that is driving the stock market," said Hugh Johnson of Hugh Johnson Advisors.

"It's more or less just trend-less and volatile. I wouldn't attach much significance to what's going on today." Civeo, which provides workforce accommodations to oil and natural resources companies in Canada and Australia, sank 52.6 per cent, citing the weak oil-investment environment. Civeo projected 2015 revenues of US$540-US$600 million, much below the US$817 million forecast by analysts.

Real-estate investment trust American Realty Capital Properties rose 7.4 per cent after activist investor Corvex Management disclosed a 7.1 per cent stake in the company and said it would press for changes to boost shareholder return.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.19 per cent from 2.21 per cent Monday, while the 30-year dipped to 2.76 per cent from 2.78 per cent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

AFP