Indices closed in green territory on Monday, even though several stocks finished off peak levels as momentum faded in the late afternoon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil tacked on 2.5% to settle at $49.19 a barrel. Stocks continued to trade into the green zone on Tuesday with Technology stocks leading the way. The positive moves came in anticipation of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s semiannual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington. Midweek, investors proceeded with caution ahead of the Brexit referendum vote, when U.K. citizens would vote on whether to leave the European Union. Existing home sales ticked up in May with sales increasing by 1.8% from April’s revised level and also up by 4.5% from May 2015. On another note, crude oil took a breather amid a smaller-than-expected decrease in inventories. Energy Information Administration data showed reserves dipped by 900,000 barrels over the past week versus an expected decline of 1.7 million barrels. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 1.4% today to settle at $49.13 a barrel. The markets closed on a positive note on Thursday with Financial and Energy companies leading the way ahead of the final count of the Brexit referendum vote in the U.K. Labor Department data showed initial jobless claims decreased last week, dipping by 18,000 to 259,000, versus expectations of 270,000. Additionally, new home sales declined in May as Commerce Department figures showed sales fell by 6% to a 551,000 annualized rate versus 586,000 in April. On Friday, stocks sold off on news of the Brexit voting results. The pro-exit vote weighed on the U.S. financial markets and oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 4.9% to settle at $47.64 a barrel. Consumer confidence dipped in June, with a final measure of 93.5, down 0.8 point from the preliminary reading, and 1.2 points off of May’s result.
