U.S. stocks open lower on Greece concerns

U.S. stocks opened lower Monday amid rising tensions surrounding Greek debt negotiations.

The new Greek government will stick to its anti-austerity pre-election agenda and will not request an extension of the current bailout program which expires on Feb. 28, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday in a closely-watched policy statement addressed to the parliament.

Athens will instead seek a bridge agreement with international lenders until a new comprehensive deal will be signed after a renegotiation of the country's debt load, he added. The news brought down Greek stocks over 5 percent, while European stocks are mostly in the red.

Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's long-term rating to B-minus from B Friday, which exerted uncertainties on European economy already.

A strong U.S. jobs report last week made investors jittery as the improvements in the labor market could increase potential for an early interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 75.94 points, or 0.43 percent, to 17,748.35. The S&P 500 shed 5.64 points, or 0.27 percent, to 2,049.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 14.94 points, or 0.31 percent, to 4,729.45. Endi