For the second day, yesterday's good news that the Q1 economy had not really shrunk left no impression as all eyes are on the impending Greek tragedy as it unfolds.  On Monday, everyone thought an agreement was imminent.  Today the EU complains that the Greeks had gone back on their own proposals while Greece's Finance Minister says the opposite -- that it is the European creditors who have now changed their demands, which have now gone from the unreasonable to the insulting.  The EU, ECB, and IMF are firmly of the position that Greece must agree to more austerity, whereas the Greeks insist that they have done everything they've been asked to do but that the creditors are now upping their requirements at the last minute.  Both sides are playing chicken in what is supposed to be a regional conflict but is quickly going global.  Greece feels they are being made an example and that it is Europe's purpose to humiliate them, something they have vowed will not happen.  The creditors are simply insisting that good business is good business and that Greece has to learn this.  The new drop-dead deadline is now Saturday.  How many times have we been through this?  Who wants to bet on who's going to blink?  (My bet is the EU!)  Today Wall Street's bet was to the tune of another 75 points down on the Dow.  Volume was near average at 5.9 billion.

Markets | Thu Jun 25, 2015 4:53pm EDT

Stocks, oil slip with eyes on Greece; hospital shares jump

NEW YORK | BY CAROLINE VALETKEVITCH

DJ:      17,890.36  -75.71       NAS:    5,112.19  -10.22        S&P:  2,102.31  -6.27

REUTERS/REMOTE/STAFF

Global stock markets and oil prices edged lower on Thursday on lingering worries over Greece, though a Supreme Court ruling upholding tax subsidies drove U.S. hospital stocks to record highs.

Concerns over the possible impact of Greece's debt crisis on European energy demand weighed on crude prices along with weaker U.S. refined fuels.

A failure on Thursday to clinch a deal between Athens and its three creditor institutions - the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Union - set up a last-ditch effort to reach agreement on Saturday to avoid a default next week.

Without a deal by the weekend to unlock frozen aid, Greece is set to default on a crucial repayment to the International Monetary Fund next Tuesday.

"Watching Greek headlines. That's kind of holding markets back," said Vassili Serebriakov, currency strategist at BNP Paribas in New York.

Market participants had assumed this week that a deal would eventually be reached after European officials said on Monday and Tuesday a proposal from Greece was a good basis for talks.

On Wall Street, hospital shares surged, with several hitting all-time highs, after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld tax subsidies that are key to President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. The S&P 500 healthcare index rose 0.5 percent.

U.S. transport stocks, considered a proxy for economic activity, unofficially entered correction territory, closing down 10.6 percent from a Dec. 29 closing high.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 75.71 points, or 0.42 percent, to 17,890.36, the S&P 500 lost 6.27 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,102.31 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 5,112.19.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 0.3 percent. MSCI's all-country index, a gauge of stock performance in 46 countries, dipped 0.2 percent.

EURO HOLDS

The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar, even after data showed U.S. consumer spending recorded its largest increase in nearly six years on strong demand for automobiles and other big-ticket items.

The euro traded at $1.12020, off 0.03 percent on the EBS trading platform.

In the bond market, U.S. benchmark 10-year notes were down 6/32 to yield 2.39 percent compared with a yield of 2.37 percent late Wednesday.

GOLD, OIL SLIDE

Gold eased for the fifth straight session as traders awaited further news on Greece's negotiations with its creditors.

Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,172.95 an ounce.

Brent crude settled down 29 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $63.20 a barrel, while U.S. crude fell 57 cents, or almost 1 percent, to end at $59.70.

"It feels like the bulls have thrown in the towel in their pursuit of pushing WTI up to $65," said Scott Shelton, broker with ICAP in Durham, North Carolina.

Note:  Volume was 5.9 billion.