Mid Day Roundup: Stocks Mixed After Greek Election

After a rather eventful weekend, U.S. equities struggled to maintain their ground, giving up some of last week’s gains during Monday morning trading hours. Stocks straddled the flat line as investors digested the latest news from both sides of the Atlantic: U.S. homebuilder sentiment rose above expectations to its highest level in five years while Greek election results�temporarily�eased Euro Zone fears. As�opposed�to last week’s behavior, stocks finally caved in to looming worries surrounding Spain’s rather grim debt crisis [see also�Seven Simple & Cheap ETF Model Portfolio].�

On Wall Street, the reaction to the New Democracy party’s victory in Greek elections on Sunday was somewhat mixed as initial optimism quickly faded to doubt. With the victory under their belt, the newly elected party jumped into action today, beginning talks with potential allies on forming a pro-bailout coalition government. New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaris�emphasized his belief in Greek’s future success and vowed that he “Will aim to immediately form a long-lasting national ‘salvation’ government with the parties that believe in the country’s European future” [see ETF Insider: Stimulus Hopes Take Center Stage].

Although Greece’s election outcome helped quell fears of the country making a sudden and disruptive exit from the European Union, investors are now skeptic of the winning party’s ability to successfully form a sustainable coalition. With uncertainty remaining a prevalent force in the markets, investors will likely keep a close eye on how these coalition talks unravel over the coming days[see�ETF Technical Trading FAQ].

Below we outline one ETF that has been impacted by today’s major headlines:

Global X FTSE Greece 20 ETF (GREK)

As investors digested the outcome of Greece’s election on Sunday, this ETF gapped slightly higher at open, only to slowly edge lower during early afternoon hours. GREK is down around 3.29% (as of 12:08 PM June 18, 2012).

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