Stocks declined, with the Dow industrials ending near a four-month low, as economic reports failed to deflect the latest breakdown in Greece’s attempts to form a coalition. Selling picked up steam in the afternoon following news that Greek depositors withdrew €700 million from local banks on Monday. JPMorgan rose 1.3% after CEO Jamie Dimon said he did not envision the bank’s $2 billion trading loss impacting the bank’s dividend. Also, the Commerce Department reported business inventories rose 0.3% in March. Reports on retail sales and inflation for April were close to expectations, providing additional support for stocks. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s gauge of manufacturing activity in the region rebounded in May, while an index of home-builder sentiment rose to a post-recession high. Tech sector was mostly lower, as Hewlett-Packard led a retreat, offsetting gains in Zynga and Groupon. Major chip shares were in the red, including Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and Texas Instruments. On the upside, the sector got a boost from Amazon.com, which rose a fraction after the stock was upgraded to outperform from neutral by Credit Suisse. In after-hours trading J.C. Penney shares fell 15% after the company reported a net loss of $0.75 a share.General Motors was up by 3.5% as Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway diclosed in a regulatory filing that it had acquired 10 million shares of GM stock. Implied volatility inched higher on massive trading volumes.
