US stocks fall as Greek default looms

New York - US stocks dropped early on Monday as Greece neared default on its debts and possibly a turbulent exit from the eurozone.

About 20 minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17 839.45, down 107.23 points. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 0.57% to 2 089.47, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.69% to 5 045.43.

Equity markets in France and Germany were down more than 2% after weekend talks yielded no breakthroughs between creditors and Greece on a deal to release bailout funds in time for Greece to meet a €1.5bn debt payment to the International Monetary Fund due on Tuesday.

Greece shut its banks and imposed capital controls to halt panic cash withdrawals.

Adding to the turbulence, Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla told The New York Times the US commonwealth is unable to pay its approximately $72bn in debt.