(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks were lower Monday on worries about Greece and weak Chinese data.
As of noon in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 57 points at 17766 while the Nasdaq fell 7 points to 4737 and the S&P 500 edged down 3 points to 2052. US stocks closed lower on Friday but both the Dow and the S&P 500 surged last week.
In Europe Greek stocks were hammered after leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowed Sunday to roll back austerity measures stressing that his country would not be asking for an extension to its current bailout. S&P cut Greece's sovereign debt rating to B- from B on Friday while Moody's placed its Caa1 rating on review for downgrade. European markets followed Greek stocks broadly lower with shares in Germany off over 2%.
Asian stocks also mostly closed in the red after Chinese data published yesterday showed the country's exports slipping 3.3% from year-ago levels while imports plunged by 19.9% the sharpest slide since May 2009. Exports have not produced a negative annual reading since March 2014. The data highlight further weakness in the Chinese economy with the Shanghai Composite settling 1.3% lower on Monday.
In the US there were no economic reports slated for today although investors will get plenty in the week ahead with the latest data on retail sales jobless claims and consumer sentiment.
In commodities OPEC sharply raised a forecast of demand for its own oil in 2015 saying the fall in prices would slow production in the US and other countries faster than previously thought. It also slashed its 2015 estimate for non-OPEC supply growth by 420000 barrels a day to 850000 barrels. Crude futures rose $1.54 to $53.24 a barrel in New York also helped by a further drop in rig counts in the U.S. which could eventually help ease the supply glut.
Gold futures edged up $5 to $1240 an ounce Monday.
In corporate activity McDonald's () reported January global same store sales fell by 1.8% hurt by a slump in the Asia/Pacific Middle East and Africa region. Meanwhile in the US same store sales rose 0.4% on positive performance in its breakfast category. Shares fell 1.4%.
Toymaker (NASDAQ:HAS) shares rose more than 7% after reporting higher fourth quarter earnings and raising its dividend.
() said its income from continuing operations fell 13% in the fourth quarter as investment income declined but the company's earnings topped expectations with shares up more than 1% Monday.
In other news () has been ordered to pay $17 million in damages after a judge ruled the security software maker had infringed two patents held by Intellectual Ventures.
Solutions () is reportedly investigating a potential sale with () () and () seen as potential buyers according to a Bloomberg report.
HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC) has admitted to the failings of its Swiss subsidiary which helped customers avoid taxes and conceal millions of dollars of assets. The bank said the Swiss arm was not fully integrated into its corporation after the purchase in 1999 allowing for "significantly lower" standards of compliance and due diligence.
's () price target was raised by analysts at Canaccord on Monday to $145 from $135 previously with them citing strong smartphone demand during the fourth quarter that should help drive long term unit sales. Shares of the iPhone maker edged up 0.3%.
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