US stocks ended the session with declines in the wake of the US Senate’s decision to postpone the vote on the law, which will replace Barack Obama’s controversial health reform, till July 4.
Technology stocks were among the losers in trade after news hit the market that the European Commission (EC) imposed a heavy fine on Google. Shares of the parent company Google – Alphabet, fell more than 2%.
At the end of trading Dow Jones fell 0.46% to 21,310 points, dragged down by the shares of Verizon, Microsoft and Cisco Systems, which were down 1.99%, 1.87% and 1.49%, respectively.
S&P 500 erased 0.81 percent to 2419 points. Only the financial sector grew in last session – the shares of financial companies in the index rose by an average of 0.5%.
The technology sector recorded the biggest loss – 1.67%, followed by the telecommunications sector with a decline of 1.43 percent and companies supplying utilities with a fall of 1.25%.
Nasdaq trimmed 1.6% to 6146 points.
“If the Senate to secure more votes to accept reform Obamacare, might be able to take some more legislative measures this year. However, this may be preparing for summer vacation,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
As for economic news, consumer confidence in the US before June proved better than expected, reaching 118.9 points.
Separately, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Patrick Harker said the US central bank will probably raise interest rates again this year.
Oil rose for the fourth consecutive session on expectations a decline in supplies in the US.
Futures on US light crude oil for delivery in August added to the 86 cents (2%) to 44.24 dollars a barrel on the Mercantile Exchange in New York. In London, Brent crude rose 82 cents (1.8%) to 46.65 dollars per barrel.
Gold rose in four of the last five sessions amid depreciation of the dollar in currency markets. Futures of the precious metal for delivery in August added 50 cents (0.05 percent) to 1 246.90 dollars an ounce.
The dollar fell to 10-month low against the euro. The greenback came under pressure after the president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi defended loosened monetary policy of the institution. Later influence on the exchange rate were also weaker than expected data on house prices in the US and comments by Fed Chair Janet Yellen in London for the upcoming increase in interest rates.
The pair euro dollar was exchanged at 1.1346 level, an increase of 1.4 percent compared with late trading Monday. The British pound reached a level of 1.2799 dollars, which is 0.6% more compared to the exchange rate from last night.
