Summary US stocks edged slightly higher late afternoon as investors continued to watch Greece's debt talks
NEW YORK: (AP) - U.S. stocks edged slightly higher in late afternoon trading Tuesday as investors continued to watch Greece s debt talks and hoped a deal would eventually be reached to keep the country from falling out of the eurozone.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average was up nine points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,027 as of 3:03 p.m. Eastern. The Standard & Poor s 500 index was up a point, or 0.1 percent, 2,098. The Nasdaq composite was flat at 4,894.
GREEK DRAMA: Greece is considering requesting an extension to its loan agreement, government officials said Tuesday, in an effort to reach a last-minute deal with the country s European creditors and avoid the danger of a euro exit.
After five years of punishing austerity, Greece wants to scrap its existing program in favor of a new one with easier terms. If no agreement is reached by the end of the month, investors expect that Greece may have little option but to default and stop using the euro currency. Most analysts expect a deal will be reached in time and this extension is the latest sign that an agreement will be reached.
THE QUOTE: "Greece s new government wants more independence, but it doesn t want that independence at all costs," said Anastasia Amoroso, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Funds. "The extension is good news because it buys Greece and the eurozone time to reach a long-term resolution."
BONDS: The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note jumped to 2.15 percent from 2.05 percent on Friday. Bond yields have been climbing sharply since the start of the month as investors become more confident that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
On Wednesday, the Fed will release the minutes from its January policy meeting. Investors expect the language to signal that the nation s central bank is on track for a modest interest rate hike as early as June.
EUROPE: Market indexes ended mixed across the continent. Germany s DAX edged down 0.3 percent. Britain s FTSE 100 rose 0.6 percent and France s CAC-40 closed mostly flat. Greek stocks fell 2.5 percent.
ENERGY: U.S. benchmark crude added 84 cents to $53.59 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained $1.57 to close at $52.78 Friday. U.S. markets were closed Monday for Presidents Day.
BURNING RUBBER: Goodyear Tire & Rubber s stock surged after the company reported a jump in its quarterly profit, thanks to a $2 billion tax credit that offset the effect of a stronger dollar on sales. Goodyear rose 84 cents, or 3 percent, to $26.75.
ROOM UPGRADE: Starwood Hotels was up $2.37, or 3 percent, to $80.92 after the company announced the sudden resignation of its CEO Frits van Paasschen. The company s board of directors said it would pivot the company toward timeshares and other high-growth areas of the hospitality industry.
METALS: Gold fell $18.50, or 1.5 percent, to $1,208.60 an ounce. Silver fell 92 cents, or 5 percent, to $16.40 an ounce and copper fell 2 cents, or 1 percent, to $2.58 a pound.
