Stocks Open Sharply Lower as Greek Crisis Worsens

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Monday, after Greek bailout talks broke down, intensifying fears that it could be the first country to exit the euro zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately dropped 134.16 points, or 0.75%, to 17,812.52. The S&P 500 fell 13.74 points, or 0.65%, to 2,087.75. The Nasdaq Composite was down 35.08 points, or 0.69%,
to 5,045.42.

The European Central Bank froze funding to Greek banks, forcing Athens to shut banks for a week to keep them from collapsing. Greece faces default if it does not repay 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.

Sysco said on Monday that it was calling off its proposed merger with US Foods, days after a federal judge halted the union of the companies, the country’s two biggest food distribution companies.

Amazon.com Inc will launch its business loan program for small sellers later this year in eight more countries including China, where credit is becoming a key factor in competing for new vendors and grabbing market share.

General Electric Co. is selling its U.S., Mexico, Australia and New Zealand fleet businesses to Element Financial Corp. for $6.9 billion.