US stocks slip after Greek ’no’ vote; bond prices rise

NEW YORK (TNS) — U.S. stock prices edged lower and the American dollar was little changed against the euro in midday trading Monday after Greeks voted to reject the terms of that country’s latest bailout package.

The markets’ stability came after stock prices in Europe and Asia fell, but not dramatically, after voters in debt-laden Greece rejected creditors’ latest demands in a referendum Sunday.

Prices of U.S. Treasury bonds rose as traders sought safer places to invest while the Greek situation plays out. And crude-oil prices tumbled 5 percent toward a three-month low amid concern about Greece and the recent slide in Chinese stocks.

Key U.S. stock indices slipped 0.2 percent to 0.3 percent from Thursday; U.S. markets were closed Friday for Independence Day.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.69 points to 17,688.42, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 5.80 to 2,070.98 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 15.72 at 4,993.49.

The markets watched warily to see if the referendum would disrupt efforts to restructure Greece’s heavy debt and bring Greece closer to exiting the 19-nation Eurozone, that is, the block of nations using the euro as their currency.

“The prospects of Greece remaining in the Eurozone have suffered a setback,” Bill O’Neill, head of the U.K. Investment Office at UBS Wealth Management, told Associated Press.