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(Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index below its average price for the past 50 days, as a drop in energy shares overshadowed a rally in health-care while investors watched for a breakthrough in Greek debt talks.

The S&P 500 Index slipped 0.3 percent to 2,102.43 at 4 p.m. in New York, falling for a second day.
“The daily movements right now continue to be relative to any positive or negative news related to the Greek talks,” said Joe Bell, a Cincinnati-based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer’s Investment Research Inc. “I’m not sure anybody knows the financial impact, but I’d guess it’s priced in to some extent. There’s just uncertainty on what that means.”

The S&P 500 is headed for a ninth week without a move of more than 1 percent, the longest streak since August 1993, churning in a tight range as investors await a resolution to the Greek crisis while assessing data for clues on the timing of any Federal Reserve interest-rate increase.

French President Francois Hollande held out the prospect of a deal for Greece even as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said negotiations looked to be going backward.

The contrast in tone from the heads of Europe’s two biggest economies reflected the frustration among leaders and finance ministers after days of talks in Brussels failed to yield a breakthrough. Finance chiefs will reconvene on Saturday for their fifth session on Greece in just over a week.

Data Watch

Data in the U.S. today showed May consumer spending increased the most since August 2009, buoyed by gains in incomes as the job market strengthened. A separate report showed filings for U.S. unemployment benefits held below 300,000 for the 16th straight week, a level economists say is consistent with progress in the labor market.

A revised report Wednesday showed a bigger gain in consumer spending in the first quarter helped the world’s largest economy contract less than previously estimated. Data earlier this week also showed sales of new and previously owned homes rose more than forecast in May.

Three rounds of Federal Reserve bond purchases and near- zero interest rates helped the S&P 500 more than triple during the six-year bull market. The gauge climbed last week by the most since April after the Fed signaled it won’t rush to raise rates, as officials hold out for more decisive evidence of an economic rebound.
–With assistance from Inyoung Hwang in London.

To contact the reporter on this story: Callie Bost in New York at cbost2@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: Cecile Vannucci at cvannucci1@bloomberg.net John Shipman, Namitha Jagadeesh