US close: Dow Jones flat as worries over Greece weigh on markets

US stocks were largely flat on Wednesday as worries about whether Greece and its creditors will reach an agreement to avoid a debt default worried investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 6.62 points to 17,862.14, while the S&P lost 0.08 points and the Nasdaq rose 13.54 points.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis began negotiations with Eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday after his government won a parliamentary confidence vote for its refusal to extend an international bailout.

Greece’s current bail-out plan expires on 28 February and some analysts fear the country could run out of money before then.

“Commentators generally seem to believe that the Greek stance in the talks is unworkable, so that the risk of outright disaster is still growing, but markets are priced for some kind of stopgap-funding deal for Greece, which allows the ECB to continue financing Greek banks and lets talks continue,” said Kit Juckes, a macro strategist at Société Générale.

Asked whether Greece could leave the Eurozone, Varoufakis replied: "Absolutely not."

Meanwhile, Moody’s Investors Service said the global economy will not benefit from lower oil prices over the next two years, due to headwinds attributable to sluggish growth in the Eurozone, China, Japan and Russia.

However, the rating agency added that the US economy will benefit from lower crude prices.

Oil prices continued to fall, with Brent crude losing 2.6% to $55 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate shed over 1.5% to $49.24 a barrel.

AOL plunged 10.19% after its quarterly revenue fell short of expectations, while Pier 1 Imports plummeted 24.34%, after cutting its outlook for earnings-per-share late on Tuesday evening.

Going the other way, PepsiCo advanced 2.45% after the soft drinks giant beat earnings expectations and announced share repurchases and dividend increases, while First Solar edged 0.35% higher after the company announced late on Tuesday that Apple had committed $848m in a power-purchase agreement.

Rite Aid rallied 6.60% after strong quarterly results. The pharmacy group confirmed it has agreed to buy TPG’s EnvisionRx in a deal valued at about $2bn.

Gold futures fell 1.01% to $1,219.80, while the dollar fell less than 0.10% against the pound but rose 0.75% against the yen, trading above ¥120 for the first time since 2 January, and 0.24% against the euro.

S&P 500 - Risers
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $8.33 +6.66%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $40.92 +5.19%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $45.77 +4.24%
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $84.79 +3.10%
Dun & Bradstreet Corp. (DNB) $129.27 +2.86%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $36.77 +2.68%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $63.75 +2.48%
PepsiCo Inc (PEP) $100.40 +2.46%
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) $67.35 +2.45%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $124.88 +2.34%

S&P 500 - Fallers
Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) $7.12 -4.81%
Centerpoint Energy Inc. (CNP) $21.65 -4.50%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $18.38 -4.07%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $146.97 -4.02%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $67.27 -3.87%
Wisconsin Energy Corp. (WEC) $51.76 -3.77%
NiSource Inc. (NI) $43.25 -3.61%
TECO Energy Inc. (TE) $20.05 -3.56%
Dominion Resources Inc. (D) $74.12 -3.31%
AGL Resources Inc. (GAS) $52.81 -3.10%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $187.65 +1.67%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $107.77 +1.17%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $109.85 +0.81%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.81 +0.61%
Visa Inc. (V) $265.99 +0.54%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $34.25 +0.29%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $85.64 +0.29%
General Electric Co. (GE) $24.77 +0.20%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $94.21 +0.20%
American Express Co. (AXP) $86.01 +0.20%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $26.93 -2.04%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $91.31 -1.55%
AT&T Inc. (T) $34.39 -1.32%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $86.34 -1.09%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $75.25 -0.96%
3M Co. (MMM) $164.48 -0.81%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $118.69 -0.59%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $83.41 -0.58%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $42.37 -0.54%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.52 -0.53%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Express Scripts Holding Co (ESRX) $84.79 +3.10%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $36.77 +2.68%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $63.75 +2.48%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $124.88 +2.34%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $83.86 +2.32%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $4.63 +1.98%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $25.74 +1.98%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $106.09 +1.93%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $76.51 +1.76%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $99.98 +1.69%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $67.27 -3.87%
Kraft Foods Group, Inc. (KRFT) $65.07 -2.72%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $214.56 -2.22%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $151.24 -2.20%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $26.93 -2.04%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $26.93 -1.86%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $173.50 -1.64%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $212.80 -1.61%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $118.38 -1.48%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $67.15 -1.45%