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Roundup: U.S. stocks retreat amid Greece concerns

Xinhua, February 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks slid after wavering below flatline in most of the trading session on Monday, as investor sentiment was dampened by rising tensions surrounding Greek debt negotiations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 95.08 points, or 0.53 percent, to 17,729.21. The S&P 500 dipped 8.73 points, or 0.42 percent, to 2,046.74. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 18.39 points, or 0.39 percent, to 4,726.01.

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

Athens would instead seek a bridge agreement with international lenders until a new comprehensive deal is signed after a renegotiation of the country's debt load, he added. The remarks brought Greek stocks down nearly 5 percent, while European equities ended mostly in the red.

On Friday, Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's long-term rating to B-minus from B, exerting uncertainty on European economy.

U.S. stock markets were also under pressure from weak China trade data, which sparked worries about one of the main growth engines of the world.

China's total trade volume stood at 2.09 trillion yuan (about 341.16 billion U.S. dollars) in January, down 10.8 percent year on year, with exports dropping 3.2 percent and imports slumping 19.7 percent, said the General Administration of Customs on Sunday.

More than 60 companies in the S&P 500 will report quarterly results this week, but Monday's schedule is light. The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, increased 7.29 percent to end at 18.55 Monday.

In other markets, oil prices continued to advance as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut crude production forecast for this year. Light, sweet crude for November delivery moved up 1.17 dollars to settle at 52.86 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), while Brent crude for December delivery rose 54 cents to close at 58.34 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar declined against most major currencies, including the euro, despite rising tensions surrounding Greek debt negotiations.

In late New York trading, the euro gained to 1.1336 dollars from 1.1318 dollars of the previous session, and the greenback bought 118.41 Japanese yen, lower than 119.14 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the Nymex rose Monday as equities weakened and the dollar fell.

The most active gold contract for April delivery added 6.9 dollars, or 0.56 percent, to settle at 1,241.50 dollars per ounce. Endite