U.S. stock futures rose slightly Tuesday as eurozone officials
were meeting in an effort to find a solution to the Greek financial
crisis.
S&P 500 futures advanced four points, or 0.2%, to 2069.
E-mini Dow futures added 27 points, or 0.2%, to 17655, and e-mini
Nasdaq-100 futures gained two points to 4426. Changes in stock
futures don't always accurately predict moves in the stock market
after the opening bell.
The eurozone's top decision makers met Tuesday and pushed for
new bailout proposals from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
after his voters overwhelmingly rejected creditors' austerity
measures in Sunday's referendum. Officials warned that a solution
won't come immediately. A summit of European leaders is preceded by
a meeting of the currency union's finance ministers.
Greece and its creditors racing against the clock before Greek
banks run out of cash, which could further weigh on the country's
struggling economy and pave the way for an exit from the euro.
Greece's banks and stock market remained closed.
"Right now, there's hope that we can get back to the negotiating
table and get something done," said Art Hogan, chief market
strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
European stocks were mostly lower. France's CAC-40 fell 1.1% and
Germany's DAX lost 0.9%.
Stocks ended lower Monday, but the declines weren't as steep as
some had expected. The Dow slipped 0.3% to 17683.58 and the S&P
500 lost 0.4% to 2068.76.
In the coming weeks, U.S. corporate earnings could provide a
distraction from the twists and turns in Greece's bailout talks.
Earnings season unofficially kicks off Wednesday afternoon with
Alcoa Inc.'s second-quarter report.
In all, quarterly profits for S&P 500 companies are forecast
to decline 4.5%, according to FactSet. That would mark the first
decline since the third quarter of 2012. Analysts similarly
predicted a decline ahead of first-quarter earnings, but profits
ended up rising by 0.8%.
Chinese stocks fell Tuesday, raising concerns about the
government's ability to stem the slide. The Shanghai Composite
declined 1.3%.
In commodity markets, gold futures slipped 0.8% to $1164.20 an
ounce. Crude-oil futures fell 0.4% to $53.33 a barrel.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note declined to 2.243% from
2.280% on Monday. Yields fall as prices rise.
In corporate news, Allergan PLC said it reached a deal to buy
the exclusive rights to two experimental migraine drugs from Merck
& Co. for $250 million. Shares of both companies were unchanged
in premarket trading.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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