Market report

Stocks rise despite Greek doubt

Specialist Ronnie Howard (front) works with traders Tuesday at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks edged higher Tuesday on the final day of the quarter, a day after the market’s worst day of the year.
Specialist Ronnie Howard (front) works with traders Tuesday at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks edged higher Tuesday on the final day of the quarter, a day after the market’s worst day of the year.

NEW YORK -- The U.S. stock market stabilized Tuesday as investors followed the latest developments in Greece.

photo

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Graphs showing the June market wrap.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,063.11. The index closed out the quarter with a loss of 0.2 percent, its first quarterly loss since dropping 1 percent in the last three months of 2012.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 23.16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,619.51. The Nasdaq composite rose 28.40 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,986.87.

Stocks edged higher a day after the market had its worst day of the year. That slump was prompted by a breakdown in talks between Greece and its creditors. Greece's European bailout program ended Tuesday, and the country hasn't agreed on an extension or new deal with creditors.

On Tuesday, the office of the Greek prime minister said Greece remains at the negotiating table and that the government has proposed a two-year deal with Europe's bailout fund. The eurozone's top official, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said there was no point in continuing the current program because the Greek government had rejected all of the creditors' proposals. A request for a new European aid program would be considered later.

The Greek government also has called a referendum for Sunday, asking Greeks to vote on whether the nation should accept the deal offered by its creditors.

In the U.S., Willis Group Holdings rose $1.50, or 3.3 percent, to $46.90 after the insurance broker said it will combine with Towers Watson in an all-stock deal valued at $18 billion.

Bond insurers, including MBIA and Ambac, fell sharply for a second day as investors followed the debt crisis in Puerto Rico. Credit-rating firm Standard & Poor's said that a default, or a restructuring, of the island's debt within the next six months appeared inevitable.

Puerto Rico's governor said Monday night that he will form a financial team to negotiate with bondholders on delaying debt payments and then restructuring $72 billion in public debt that he says the U.S. island can't repay.

"If Greece wasn't happening, this would be a major story right now," said JJ Kinanhan, chief strategist at TD Ameritrade.

MBIA dropped 36 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $6.01. The company's stock has fallen 36 percent in the past week. Ambac Financial fell $3.08, or 15.6 percent, to $16.64.

Andrew Gadlin, an analyst who follows MBIA for the broker Odeon, estimates that the insurer has $5.8 billion of exposure to Puerto Rico's debt.

The price of oil rose for the first time in a week as negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program were extended, potentially delaying a return of Iranian crude to the market.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose $1.14 to close at $59.47 a barrel in New York. U.S. crude finished the month down 83 cents, or 1.4 percent. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose $1.58 to close at $63.59 a barrel in London.

Business on 07/01/2015

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