On Wednesday U.S. stocks dropped in early trade as investors were nervous over a precipitous selloff in Chinese shares. Greece and the coming Federal Reserve minutes added to investors' jitters.
The S&P 500 fell 20 points, or 1% to 2,060. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 185 points, or 1%, to 17,590. The Nasdaq Composite declined 57 points, or 1.2% to 4,939.
The Shanghai Composite Index has now trimmed more than 30% of its value over the past month.
The unofficial start to the earnings season, which comes with Alcoa’s report after the market close on Wednesday, was also weighing on investors’ sentiment as current estimates point to a decline in earnings and revenues for the second quarter.
According to Thomson Reuters data, corporate profits are expected to have fallen 3.1 percent in the second quarter.
In the meantime, the Greek crisis remains disturbing.
Athens submitted a request for bailout through the eurozone’s bailout fund - the European Stability Mechanism. Today Greece’s banks and stock markets remained closed. At the close in Athens, the Athens General-Composite rose 2.03%.
European markets traded slightly higher.
Investors will now await the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's June 16-17 meeting to see turmoils in Greece and China could have an effect on the timing of an interest rate hikes. The minutes are due at 2:00 p.m. ET.
