US open: Stocks slide amid lukewarm Chinese data and Greek worries

US stocks slid early on Monday, with disappointing data out of China and concerns surrounding Greece weighing on sentiment.

Just after 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 36 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost three and eight respectively.

European stocks slid as concerns over Greece continue to be the main talking point in the continent.

Over the weekend, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced accusations from the President of the European Commission that he has been distorting the proposals put forward by its international creditors.

Jean-Claude Juncker said that in order for the deal negotiations to continue, Tsipras would have to come up with some alternative proposals, saying his current terms are "absurd".

"The institutions have already come round to the idea of lower primary surpluses, but I don’t see them budging on other key issues unless Greece comes up with a credible alternative," said Oanda’s senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

Chinese data disappoints, Shanghai Composite surges

In China, the Shanghai Composite Index hit its highest level in over seven years, despite disappointing data.

Exports fell for a third consecutive month in May, dropping 2.5% from the same period in 2014 in dollar denominated terms and 2.8% in yuan denominated terms, both topping expectations.

However, imports continued to tumble to a seven-month low, down 17.6% in dollar terms and 18.1% in yuan terms, prompting domestic concerns and putting oil prices under pressure, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0.73% to $58.70 a barrel, while Brent fell 0.65 % to 62.90 a barrel.

The dollar edged lower after President Barack Obama reportedly said at the G7 summit in Germany that the “strong dollar posed a problem”, although his comments were later denied by a senior White House official.

The greenback fell 0.41% against the yen and 0.90% against the euro and 0.15% against the pound, while gold futures climbed 0.29% to $1,171.50.

In company news, Apple shares declined 0.21% ahead of the company’s annual developer conference, where the tech giant is expected to announce a new music-streaming device.

Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores gained 0.21% after being upgraded to strong buy from outperform by analysts at Raymond James.

Monsanto Company climbed 0.59% after sector peer Syngenta AG said it had turned down a second takeover offer from the producer of agricultural products.