Petros Giannakouris / AP
First the scoreboard:
And now the top stories:
- This morning, Greece officially failed to get it together and form a coalition government. Greeks will now likely have to head back to the polls on June 17. This could be problematic as experts project a new government would likely make it even more difficult to push through austerity measures, which could ultimately prevent Greece from getting desperately needed bailout funds. To no one's surprise, the Greek stock market dove led by Greek banks.
- Eurozone GDP readings were released today, and the region delivered a big round goose egg. Italy's economy contracted at a 0.7 percent annualized rate, which was worse than expected. Germany beat expectations by growing 0.5 percent. However, Germany's ZEW economic sentiment survey fell sharply.
- Some major U.S. economic data came largely in line or better than expected, much to the relief of U.S. investors. The consumer price index was flat in April, which was right in line with expectations. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, climbed by 0.2 percent. This is good news for the Fed doves who may have been worried inflation would present itself as a hurdle to more quantitative easing (aka QE3).
- Cool inflation likely helped retail sales, which climbed by 0.1 percent in April. This was right in line with expectations. In retail, TJX Companies surged on strong earnings. However, Saks posted disappointing Q1 results.
- The NAHB housing market index jumped to 29, up from 24 last month. This was great news for the homebuilder stocks like Lennar and D.R. Horton. The Homebuilder Index (XHB) climbed in today's down market.
- Chesapeake Energy sold off sharply today as investors and traders continue to try to figure out what will happen next for the belegured natural gas company
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