U.S. stocks were poised for a slightly higher open Friday,
following two sessions of losses, as a bailout deal between Greece
and its creditors remained elusive.
S&P 500 futures added four points, or 0.2%, to 2098. E-mini
Dow futures rose 39 points, or 0.2%, to 17851, and e-mini
Nasdaq-100 futures gained three points, or 0.1%, to 4512. Changes
in stock futures don't always accurately predict moves in the stock
market after the opening bell.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras met with German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and French President Franç ois Hollande Friday and
updated them on the new Greek economic proposals submitted to
creditors. Eurozone finance chiefs will meet Saturday in an attempt
to seal a Greek bailout agreement. Without a deal, Greece will
default on its June 30 payment to the International Monetary
Fund.
Amid a lack of major corporate news, negotiations between Greece
and its international creditors have driven U.S. markets recently.
The flow of company-specific news tends to slow in between earnings
seasons, leaving investors to focus on economic and political news.
The second-quarter reporting period unofficially kicks off on July
8 with Alcoa Inc.'s earnings release.
Investors are shifting their portfolios ahead of an expected
change in monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. The Fed is
widely expected to raise short-term interest rates later this year.
Those rates have been held near zero since December 2008.
"We're getting early portfolio adjustments as the quarter comes
to an end," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell
Global Capital. Utilities stocks in the S&P 500 have fallen the
most this week and have been leading declines for the year.
Investors snapped up utilities stocks in the past few years for
their high dividends, as they searched for yield in a low-rate
environment. Those stocks are likely to become less appealing as
interest rates rise.
"Investors are beginning to prepare for monetary change sometime
this year," Mr. Cardillo said.
On Thursday, the Dow industrials declined 0.4% to 17890.36 and
the S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 2102.31. So far this week, the Dow has
lost 0.7% and the S&P 500 has slipped 0.4%. While both indexes
have fallen slightly for the month, they remain on track for
quarterly gains.
European stocks were mixed in recent trading. Germany's DAX
slipped 0.1%, while France's CAC-40 added 0.3%. Greece's Athex
Composite fell 0.7%.
In commodity markets, gold futures added 0.1% to $1172.60 an
ounce. Crude-oil futures slipped 0.3% to $59.52 a barrel.
The yield on the 10-year note rose to 2.421% from 2.392% on
Thursday. Yields rise as prices fall.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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