"Certainly as a result of the elections in Greece, the odds of a default and an exit from the euro have increased"
- James Dunigan, chief investment officer for PNC Wealth Management
U.S. wholesale inventories rose in March at a slowest pace since November, Commerce Department data showed on Wednesday. Inventories rose 0.3 per cent to a record 480.4 billion dollars from February, when they increased 0.9 per cent.
"Firms are in a pretty decent shape on their inventories," Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, said. "Firms are just being very cautious. I don't think there's a lot of visibility on demand going forward, so firms are not willing to assume strong demand six or nine or twelve months out.
Stocks closed lower on Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 shed 0.67%, or 9.14 points, to 1,354.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 0.75%, or 97.03 points, to 12,835.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.39%, or 11.56 points, to 2,934.71.
"There's something to worry about here," said James Dunigan, chief investment officer for PNC Wealth Management. "We expected there would be flare-ups again in Europe. People were scratching their heads why they didn't show up a little sooner. Certainly as a result of the elections in Greece, the odds of a default and an exit from the euro have increased."
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