Continued expansion in Chinese manufacturing over the weekend was not enough to lift its equity markets. Investors were more concerned about continued deterioration in the country’s property markets, and a private lender survey that showed a considerable deceleration in capital expenditures by Chinese companies. The Hang Seng Index (HSI) was down 1.68% overnight, with financial stocks among the worst performers.
The S&P 500 (SPX) traded slightly negative for much of the day and finished down 0.01%. Small-cap stocks underperformed for the second straight day.
The preliminary manufacturing index for June showed a strong uptick in order activity and employment. The index rose to 57.5 from 56.4 last month, higher than the 56.0 expected. Industrials underperformed, however. May existing home sales climbed to an annual rate of 4.89 million from 4.66 million in the month prior, which was ahead of the 4.74 million expected. Homebuilder stocks outperformed much of the day, and were up 0.37%.
Google (GOOG) rose 1.49% today. Friday after the close, its Nest Labs subsidiary announced the acquisition of security camera company DropCam. The move bolsters Google’s presence in the ‘Internet of Things’ market. Software maker Micros Systems (MCRS) was up 3.36% today, closing at $67.98, after the company received a $5.3 billion bid from Oracle (ORCL). Micros rose sharply last week as rumors of the deal spread.
More housing data will be released tomorrow. Scheduled to be reported are April federal and S&P/Case Shiller home prices, both of which are expected to show a deceleration in price growth from the prior month. May new home sales are also expected to be reported. Housing starts and permits from that month came in below expectations when they were reported last week. Lastly, the Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence for June will be released.
The only major report due out tomorrow from the rest of the world is the German IFO survey of professional investor’s thoughts on the current and future economic situation.
The two major earnings reports scheduled for tomorrow are from Walgreen (WAG) and Carnival (CCL).
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