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Dow Jones eases 30 points by the close as markets digest Greece and France voter choices

The ASX has no strong leads to follow when the market opens in a couple of hours as U.S. equity markets were mixed overnight as they reflected on voting results over the weekend in which Greece and France rejected pro-austerity candidates.

U.S. equity markets were mixed as Wall Street reflected on voting results over the weekend in which Greece and France rejected pro-austerity candidates.

By the close the Dow Jones had eased 30 points to 13,009, with the NASDAQ adding just one point to 2959.

In France, Socialist Francois Hollande defeated president Nicolas Sarkozy, prompting  investor worry about the future of austerity measures throughout Europe.

Hollande has advocated for more economic stimulus, and investors are concerned whether or not such policies will hinder previously-announced bailout deals, in which stronger economies in the eurozone provide assistance for those nations facing default.

In the Greek elections, the two most established parties both lost seats in parliament, meaning no party had anything near the majority required to form a government. This translates to prolonged uncertainty with how the debt-ridden country is expected to deal with the conditions of its bailout package.

In corporate news, shares of bailed-out insurer AIG (NYSE:AIG) fell, after the Treasury Department announced that it was planning to sell 163.9 million shares for $30.50 each - down from Friday's closing price of $32.83.

After the closing bell, video games publisher Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) is expected to report a decline in quarterly earnings and revenue.

Fourth-quarter earnings are expected to fall 32% to 17 cents per share, with the estimate coming from a FactSet Research survey of analysts. Revenue is likely to dip 4% to $958 million.

Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) said Monday that its second quarter sales rose 3.4 percent on strong gains in its chicken, pork and
prepared food segments.

For the three months that ended March 31, the meat processor posted $166 million, or 44 cents per share in profits, up from $156 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago.

Sales increased 3.4 percent to 8.3 billion, $8.0 billion, in the second quarter 2011.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 39 cents on revenue of $8.49 billion.

Dow component Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) rose after its film "The Avengers" smashed opening weekend box office records, with $200.3 million in domestic ticket sales.

Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) reported fiscal first-quarter earnings slumped 34.4 percent on Monday, despite posting higher subscription additions.

Earnings slipped to $360 million, or 80 cents a share, on $3.58 billion in revenue for the latest period that ended March 31. That is down from a profit of $549 million, or $1.22 a share, on $3.22 billion in sales a year ago.

Avis Budget Group (NASDAQ:CAR) Monday swung to a first-quarter loss as the car hire giant shouldered costs for its acquisition of Avis Europe.

No major economic data was due for release Monday.

Commodities

On the NYMEX, crude futures fell $2.00 to $96.49 a barrel while gold futures for June delivery fell $7.30 to 1,639 an ounce.

Europe

European stocks initially tumbled about but recovered as investors continued to digest the results. The DAX finished up 1.8% while the CAC 40 rose 0.1%. British markets were closed for a holiday.

Proactive Investors is a market leader in the investment news space, providing ASX “Small and Mid-cap” company news, research reports, StockTube videos and One2One Investor Forums.

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