Greek debt concerns to depress stocks

U.S. futures were negative as the Dow Jones industrial futures lost 19 points to 12,774, the Nasdaq futures fell 5.2 points to 2,517.8 while the S&P 500 futures moved down 3.9 points to 1,335.

Greece needs a second bailout amounting to €130 billion to avoid bankruptcy next month. However, the plan has run into political resistance in Greece over the strict austerity terms involved in the bailout.

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos will meet with negotiators from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund in the afternoon and then with the leaders of the three parties backing his coalition.

The parties all publicly oppose steep cuts in private sector pay demanded by the eurozone and IMF, but their backing is needed for the government to reach a deal for the bailout, which must be approved by the Greek Parliament.

Greece cannot cover a €14.5 billion bond repayment due March 20 without the second bailout.

Markets have been sensitive to the Greek debt crisis since a default would cause havoc in the region’s financial system.

A stronger U.S. dollar helped depress commodity prices. A stronger greenback usually helps depress prices for oil and metals, which are denominated in dollars, as it makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The March crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange lost $1.08 to US$96.76 a barrel.

March copper slipped five cents to US$3.85 a pound. Bullion prices also softened with the April contract down $20.80 to US$1,719.50 an ounce.

Commodity prices were lifted across the board Friday after the U.S. non-farm payrolls report for January showed that job creation came in much better than expected. The economy cranked out 243,000 jobs against the approximately 140,000 that economists expected.

The data also helped lift the TSX 0.9% last week, its seventh straight week of advances. The TSX is up just over five per cent from the start of the year as economic data from the U.S. that the country will avoid slipping back into recession. Recent manufacturing data from China has indicated that the government has managed to bring the economy to a soft landing as tried to bring down high inflation. The data has reinforced hopes the Chinese government can afford to loosen lending requirements in order to encourage growth.

London’s FTSE 100 index dipped 0.19%.

Frankfurt’s DAX was off 0.25% as the German government announced that strong demand from outside the eurozone helped the country’s industrial orders rise a stronger-than-expected 1.7% in December. The Economy Ministry says Monday that the monthly rise follows a revised 4.9% drop in November.

The Paris CAC 40 lost 0.9%.

Earlier Asian shares mostly traded higher as investors there had their first chance to respond to join in the advance generated by Friday’s upbeat jobs data.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.1% to its highest closing in more than three months but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2%. Benchmarks in Singapore and mainland China also rose.

In earnings news, quarter profits at toymaker Hasbro Inc. slipped one per cent, pinched by softer-than-expected demand in the U.S. and Canada and slow sales of games and puzzles. While earnings for the maker of Nerf, Transformers and My Little Pony matched Wall Street estimates, revenue was slightly below forecasts and its shares were down about 2.5% in pre-market trading in New York.