Dow Jones Industrial Average, Crude Get Smacked

With little in the way of earnings or economic data for traders to digest, minus an uptick in service-sector activity, speculators took in a number of overseas developments -- including a high-profile, post-vote resignation in Greece and a fresh round of stimulus measures in China -- as well as the biggest insurance merger on record and crude's steep sell-off. Against this backdrop, and ahead of more wheeling and dealing in Europe, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) explored a 170-point range, eventually succumbing to a modest loss.

 

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

 

• 2 levels Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) put players are watching.
• As "bubble talk" heats up in the biotech sector, here are 3 drugmakers that made big moves today.
• 2 blue-chip energy issues that succumbed to oil's slide, and their sector peer that got hit by a downbeat analyst note.
• Plus ... Avoiding a "Grexit," Iran's nuclear deal hits a snag, and Amazon.com, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AMZN) newest offer.

Despite a brief trek north of breakeven mid-morning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA - 17,683.58) spent the session in the red, settling down 46.5 points, or 0.3%. Twenty-four of the Dow's 30 components closed lower, led by General Electric Company's (NYSE:GE) 1.8% drop. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) paced the six advancers with its 0.9% gain.

 

The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 2,068.76) traded in a more than 20-point range, eventually closing down 8 points, or 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite (COMP - 4,991.94), meanwhile, gave back 17.3 points, or 0.3%, to settle back below the 5,000 mark.

 

Following last week's big moves, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX - 17.01) edged up 0.2 point, or 1.3%.

 

   

5 Items on Our Radar Today:

 

1. Greece dominated headlines today, after the country over the weekend voted "no" to its creditors' austerity demands. Ahead of tomorrow's emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have given Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras an eleventh-hour chance to avoid a "Grexit," with Merkel claiming "time is running out." (Bloomberg)
2. At a meeting between Iran, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the U.S. today, Tehran held up a critical nuclear arms deal, insisting U.N. sanctions on the country's ballistic missiles be lifted. The parties are expected to meet again ahead of tomorrow's deadline. (Reuters)
3. To celebrate its 20th anniversary, AMZN is offering Prime members massive deals next Wednesday. In the options pits, meanwhile, short-term speculators are already snagging deals.
4. Option traders set their sights on the Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (NYSEARCA:GREK), and amid all the uncertainty, buyers were willing to pay a pretty penny.
5. Schaeffer's contributor Adam Warner took a closer look at last week's big VIX pop.

 

 Commodities:

 

Growing uncertainty from overseas and a potential nuclear deal with Iran smacked crude oil today. By the close, crude for August delivery was off $4.40, or 7.7%, at $52.53 per barrel -- its lowest close since mid-April, and biggest drop since early February.

 

Gold futures, meanwhile, capitalized on its safe-have status, with the August-dated contract settling up $9.70, or 0.8%, at $1,173.20 per ounce.