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U.S. stocks open lower ahead of Greece news

Xinhua, February 20, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower Friday as uncertainty over ongoing negotiations for a debt deal in Greece put Wall Street on edge.

Greek cabinet ministers, however, appeared optimistic on Friday that a bridge agreement between Greece and its European creditors could be clinched during Friday's new extraordinary euro group meeting in Brussels.

Germany rejected a request from Greece Thursday to extend its loan agreement with eurozone creditors, saying the Greek proposal did not meet previously agreed criteria decided by the Eurogroup Monday.

Earlier on Thursday, Greece submitted a request to the Euro Working Group for a six-month extension of the four-year bailout loan agreement in a bid to receive vital financial aid from the eurozone after the current bailout expires on Feb. 28.

In corporate news, Barclays downgraded Wal-Mart to "equal weight" from "overweight", saying the retailer is unlikely to see near-term benefits from its just-announced increase in wages.

Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon announced Thursday to raise the minimum wage for all of its U.S. workers to at least 9 dollars an hour in April and at least 10 dollars an hour by February of next year. The company's shares declined 0.65 percent in the early trading.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 37.96 points, or 0.21 percent, to 17,947.81. The S&P 500 fell 3.43 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,094.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 3.15 points, or 0.06 percent, to 4,921.55.

U.S. stocks closed mixed after wavering narrowly between gains and losses Thursday, with the S&P 500 hitting a new intraday record of 2,102.13 points, as investors tried to digest the impact of negotiations over Greece's bailout. Endi