(MENAFN- AFP) US stocks dropped early Friday as markets eyed talks between Greece and the eurozone on extending a bailout program that expires this month.
About 30 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 17,881.73, down 104.04 points (0.58 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 11.07 (0.53 percent) to 2,086.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 15.96 (0.32 percent) at 4,908.74.
Finance ministers of the euro zone's 19 member countries were to meet in Brussels on Friday to consider a proposal by Athens to extend its European Union loan program.
Germany has opposed Greek efforts to extend the financing without tough austerity measures. The fog surrounding Greece has depressed trading volumes, said Briefing.moc analyst Patrick O'Hare.
"Press reports continue to highlight that the parties want to work with one another but that there are still deep differences of opinion," he said.
"In other words, the reports tell us nothing other than that nothing has been resolved."
Agricultural equipment manufacturing company Deere fell 1.6 percent after reporting a 76 percent drop in first-quarter earnings to $386.8 million, citing "sluggish conditions in the global farm sector" that depressed demand for its goods.
Nordstrom advanced 1.4 percent on news comparable sales in the fourth quarter rose 4.5 percent. The department store chain projected a 2-4 percent rise in sales in 2015.
Metals producer New mont Mining gained 4.6 percent after the company reported $15 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a $1.2 billion loss last year. The company said gold production would "increase steadily" over the next three years.
Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.07 percent from 2.11 percent Thursday, while the 30-year declined to 2.70 percent from 2.74 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.
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