Give Us Some “Greece,” Greece

Greece puts off debt deal another day as markets and ETFs idle with anticipation

Indexes and Index ETFs idled yesterday in anticipation of Greece to give markets and ETFs some “Greece.”  The S&P 500 rose .22%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose .04%, the NASDAQ Composite rose .41%, while the Russell 2000 rose .12%.  Index ETFs responded in turn as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) rose .3%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEARCA:DIA) rose .16%, the PowerShares QQQ Series 1 ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) added .53%, and the iShares Russell 2000 Index ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) inched up .22%.

Greece apparently does not have a debt deal yet…big surprise?  Something big is going on across the pond, whether it be bickering, yelling, or complete incompetence, but for whatever reason the small debt stricken nation has not yet reached an agreement over the austerity package necessary for the EU to bail them out. 

One wonders that if “talks” have gone on for this long if there is a deal at all.  Or, another explanation would be that the situation has turned into a game of chicken between Greek bond holders and the three branches of the Greek government.  Keep in mind that these austerity measures come after many rounds of already painful spending cuts in which thousands of government workers have been laid off in the midst of a 5 year recession.  Perhaps the Euro is the only way to save this country, however these austerity measures are likely to set Greece back for a while in terms of economic recovery and growth.

There were no economic reports yesterday, however earnings reports from Disney (DIS), McDonald’s (MCD), and Time Warner (TWX) were positive, which suggests that the American Consumer is indeed consuming more. 

Today is a big day as we have weekly jobless claims and a wholesale inventory report on the docket. Plus, don’t forget Greece, as Greece needs to give us some “Greece” too, sometime soon.

Bottom Line: Markets and ETFs idled yesterday as investors anticipated a possible Greek resolution which has yet to be resolved.  Hold your breath, today (or the next day, or the next?) should be interesting…Give us some”Greece,” Greece!

Disclaimer: Wall Street Sector Selector trades a wide variety of ETFs and positions can change at any time.