US open: Greek uncertainty and weak data hit Wall Street stocks early on

Weaker-than-expected economic data and a failed Eurogroup meeting on Greece weighed on US stocks after the opening bell on Tuesday.

As of 09:55 in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2% at 17,977, the Nasdaq fell 0.2% to 4,886, while the S&P 500 declined 0.3% to 2,091.

The retreat followed a strong performance by US markets last week, with the Dow surpassing 18,000 for the first time in 2015 on Friday. Wall Street was closed for Presidents Day on Monday.

"US stocks look like starting a shortened week on the back foot on Tuesday following another breakdown in negotiations over the Greek bailout at last night’s Eurogroup meeting," said analyst Jasper Lawler from CMC Markets.

Greece's new government and Eurozone finance ministers butted heads in Brussels on Monday with the meeting ending early as Greek leaders stood firm on their opposition to an extension of their €240bn bailout.

The Eurogroup have now failed in the past two meetings to make any progress and the current aid agreement is due to expire at the end of the month.

However, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said there was still enough time to reach a "very good outcome", ahead of the next meeting on Friday.

In other news, a report showed manufacturing in the New York area grew at a slower pace in February. The so-called Empire State general activity index fell to 7.78 from 9.95 in January, compared to estimates of 9.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Home Builders' housing market index unexpectedly fell from 57 to a four-month low of 55 in February, showing that builders view market conditions as less favourable than the month before. Analysts had expected a pick-up to 58.

Goodyear jumps

Goodyear Tire & Rubber was a high riser after a one-time tax benefit of $2.2bn helped it register a net income of $2.13bn for the fourth quarter, compared with just $235m a year before.

"The release of our $2.2bn US tax valuation allowance after 12 years is a major milestone for Goodyear. It marks the completion of the successful turnaround of our North America business," said chief executive Richard Crammer.

Halliburton advanced following reports ValueAct Capital Management LP has purchased a new stake in the company of about 3.5%.

SunEdison gained after David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital and Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC reported increased stakes in the solar company.