Dominique Strauss-Kahn
NYSE Euronext (NYX) sank 9.3 percent in early New York trading after NASDAQ OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) withdrew their offer for the operator of the New York Stock Exchange. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Citigroup Inc. (C) led banks lower in German trading. Lowe’s Cos. slid in early New York trading after the retailer posted earnings that missed analysts’ estimates.
S&P 500 futures expiring in June lost 0.3 percent to 1,329.3 at 7:27 a.m. in New York. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.4 percent to 12,511, while Nasdaq-100 Index futures slipped 0.2 percent 2,365.5.
“Markets are concerned by the loss of economic momentum and the resurgence of risk in the euro zone,” said Mike Lenhoff, chief strategist at Brewin Dolphin Securities Ltd. in London. “It is a market that has good fundamental support in the background, but what’s lacking right now is some stronger lead that will take the market upward.”
Greece will plead for European governments and the International Monetary Fund to boost its 110 billion-euro ($155 billion) bailout today in talks clouded by the arrest of IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn. European finance ministers will also discuss the approval of 78 billion euros in Portuguese aid at their Brussels meeting.
Strauss-Kahn Charges
Strauss-Kahn, 62, is awaiting his first court appearance on attempted rape charges after an alleged attack on a 32-year-old female maid at a Sofitel hotel in midtown Manhattan on May 14, according to the New York Police Department. He has denied the charges and will plead not guilty, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said.
The S&P 500 has lost 1.9 percent so far this month, led by commodity producers, after inflation reports spurred speculation that global interest rates will rise. The gauge has still climbed 6.4 percent this year as government stimulus measures and better-than-estimated corporate earnings boosted confidence in the economic recovery.
NYSE plunged 9.3 percent to $37.07 in early New York trading after Nasdaq and ICE withdrew their rival offer for the company following discussions with the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Germany’s Deutsche Boerse AG agreed to buy NYSE in February. Nasdaq’s shares were suspended pending the announcement.
Goldman Sachs lost 0.7 percent to $140.47 in Germany, while Citigroup fell 1.1 percent to $41.08. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) slid 0.3 percent to $43.01.
Read more: bloomberg
