U.S. stocks were lower but near highs in early trading Tuesday despite the lack of a resolution in the Greece-eurozone standoff. In U.S. economic news, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) housing market indices showed that home builder sentiment fell 2 points, largely due to winter weather. In international economic news, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Tuesday that his Syriza party would not compromise with the eurozone. On Monday, Greece failed to come to a settlement over a proposal for a six-month extension of its international rescue package. The European Central Bank (ECB) Wednesday will discuss Greek banks' use of emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) – and after which the ECB may give more clarity as to when or whether it will put a cap on its funding for Greek banks. The dollar edged lower against major world currencies. Light sweet crude oil for March delivery fell $1.51 to $51.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures dropped $19.10 to $1,207.80 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 23.62, or 0.13 percent, to 17,995.73. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 2.05, or 0.09 percent, to 2,095.07. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 4.56, or 0.09 percent, to 4,889.33.
