Stocks Opened Lower after Weak Data

U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, as softer-than-expected economic data and uncertainty about Greece’s debt negotiations weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately was down 38.12 points, or 0.21%, to 18,009.46. The S&P 500 dropped 3.40 points, or 0.16%, to 2,096.94. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.05 points, or 0.02%, to 4,898.21.

Builders broke ground on fewer U.S. residential construction projects in January as demand for single-family homes cooled from an almost seven-year high, signaling the rebound in housing remains uneven.Housing starts declined 2 percent to a 1.07 million annual rate,
following the prior month’s 1.09 million pace, a Commerce Department report showed Wednesday in Washington.

Factory production in the U.S. rose less than forecast in January, held back by a decline in motor vehicle assemblies and weaker demand for construction materials. The 0.2 percent increase in output followed no change in December that was initially reported as a gain, data
from the Federal Reserve showed Wednesday in Washington.

Greece offered to accept conditions on an extension to its loan agreements with the euro zone, and even an inspection by the European Commission, at a fraught meeting in Brussels on Monday, documents released by Athens showed.

Hotel chain Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (HLT) said on Wednesday that fourth-quarter profit rose to $158 million, or 16 cents a share, up from $26 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago period.