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Roundup: U.S. stocks decline amid Greece concerns, GDP data

Xinhua, June 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks pulled back amid GDP report on Wednesday, as a setback in Greece's debt talks weighed on investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 178.00 points, or 0.98 percent, to 17,966.07. The S&P 500 decreased 15.62 points, or 0.74 percent, to 2,108.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 37.68 points, or 0.73 percent, to 5,122.41.

The eurozone's Greece talks didn't reach agreement late Wednesday and is set to restart on Thursday.

International creditors rejected the Greek government's plan to end its financial crisis, but they have submitted counterproposals, according to media reports.

News of the rejection, announced by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, dashed hopes of an imminent deal between the embattled Mediterranean country and its creditors.

Time is running out for Greece and creditors to reach a deal before Greece has to repay a 1.6-billion-euro loan to the IMF by the end of this month.

Greece will face default if it fails to make the repayment, which may trigger "capital controls" on its banks.

On the economic front, the final read on first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States decreased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent, in line with expectations and above a previous estimate of a 0.7 percent contraction, the Department of Commence said Wednesday.

"The biggest change was in consumption, which was revised from 1.8 percent to 2.1 percent. A stronger consumer finish in Q1 and anticipated better April and May consumption figures tomorrow should keep the Q2 consensus close to 2 percent," said Chris Low, chief economic analyst at FTN Financial, in a note.

The Federal Reserve has said it remains data-dependent and expects to raise interest rates when it sees a sustained rebound in the economy.

Jerome Powell, a Fed governor, on Tuesday said the U.S. economy could be ready for a first interest rate hike in September and there would be two increases by the end of the year.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, increased 9.50 percent to end at 13.26 Wednesday.

In other markets, oil prices lost despite the drop of U.S. crude inventories.

The West Texas Intermediate for August delivery moved down 74 cents to settle at 60.27 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery decreased 96 cents to close at 63.49 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Future Exchange.

The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies, after soaring to the highest level in more than two weeks in the previous session.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.1202 dollars from 1.1169 dollars in the previous session, while the dollar bought 123.84 Japanese yen, lower than 123.96 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange continued its retreat.

The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 3.7 dollars, or 0.31 percent, to settle at 1,172.90 dollars per ounce. Endite