U.S. Shares Fall On European Concerns

U.S. shares declined Monday, with Wall Street pessimism growing on prospects of concrete results from a meeting of European leaders later in the week.

“Once again front and center is Europe. So far, again there is a lot of politics, with a fairly wide crevice between what Germany is willing to do versus what others are calling for,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in San Francisco.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -1.27% fell 153.98 points, or 1.2%, to 12,486.80.

The S&P 500 SPX -1.76% lost 22.20 points, or 1.7%, to 1,312.82.

The Nasdaq Composite COMP -1.98% shed 54.55 points, or 1.9%, to 2,837.92.

For every stock rising roughly five fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where 196 million shares had traded as of 11:10 a.m. Eastern, according to data compiled by Market Watch. 

The Commerce Department reported new home sales climbed to a two-year high in May.

“Housing is a sign of strength here on the domestic front, which is something that should not be lost on investors, although domestic news will unfortunately probably be trumped by Europe,” said Luschini.

A Supreme Court ruling on 2010’s Affordable Care Act is also expected this week.

Health-care shares in the S&P 500 were down about 1.1%; all 10 industry sectors were lower, led by energy and finance companies.

“It could be a big deal, predicated on which way it breaks. I don’t know that if the Supreme Court comes down on the side of its legality is going to put the market off, but I do think its repeal could be a boost to equities,” said Luschini, who explains the former would be continuing the status quo, while the latter would be seen as “some relief on the regulatory front.”

The dollar  DXY +0.29% gained against other global currencies, including the euro EURUSD -0.40% , and Treasury prices rose, with the 10-year note yield 10_YEAR -4.05% down to 1.612%.

The price of oil declined, with oil futures CLQ2 -1.72% down $1.30 to $78.46 a barrel.