Stocks Opened Lower; Greece, Yellen Eyed

U.S. stocks opened lower on Monday, amid near-resolution in the Greece bailout extension and anticipation of Fed chair Janet Yellen’s remarks over the next two days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 70.48 points, or 0.39%, to 18,069.96. The S&P 500 was down 6.42 points, or 0.30%, to 2,103.88. The Nasdaq Composite was off by 10.45 points, or 0.21%, at 4,945.51.

President Barack Obama will direct the Department of Labor on Monday to proceed with new rules that would rein in conflicts of interests among Wall Street brokers who advise clients on retirement investments, administration officials said.

Apple Inc said it would spend 1.7 billion euros ($1.9 billion) to build two data centers in Europe that would be entirely powered by renewable energy and create hundreds of jobs.

Oil prices slid Monday, extending last week’s sharp decline as the dollar strengthens on eurozone strains and record supplies in the United States add further downward pressure. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in April shed $1.17 to $49.64 a barrel.