New York: Wall Street stocks Monday followed European equity markets lower, dropping on growing fears of a Greek default and exit from the eurozone.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 17,726.45, down 97.84 points (0.55 percent).
The broad-based S&P 500 fell 8.92 (0.43 percent) to 2,046.55, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 18.39 (0.39 percent) to 4,726.01.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras vowed over the weekend to stand by his anti-austerity electoral promises, raising worries of a default on 315 billion euros ($360 billion) in debt.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she awaited a "sustainable" proposal from Greece that respected the "basic rules" of the bailout program as set by international lenders.
The Athens stock market closed down nearly five percent, and markets in Britain, France and Germany also fell.
"The concern of a messy exit of Greece (plays) on the backdrop of an European economy that is already unstable," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities.
