Stocks open lower on Greek debt fears
01/24/2012 in General
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — U.S. stocks opened in the red Tuesday as investors awaited progress on Greek debt talks and waded through another batch of corporate results.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 65 points, or 0.5%, the S&P 500 (SPX)shed 8 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq (COMP) dropped 12 points, or 0.4%.
Anxiety remains about the European debt crisis and, in particular, Greece’s ongoing negotiations with representatives of private-sector creditors to reduce its debt burden.
A deal is a key condition for Greece to receive additional bailout funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. Without this financial support, Greece may not be able to make a €14 billion debt payment that’s due March 20.
“The primary impact of the Greek debt crisis is an overwhelmingly negative impact to and deflation of confidence in world markets,” said Kevin Brungardt, chairman of RoundPoint Financial. “It is the poster country for a further worldwide pullback. People want to see a recovery and every bit of bad news stokes ‘Chicken Little syndrome’.”
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