Greece and the investors who bought its national bonds were close to a deal over the weekend. The investors would swap their bonds for replacements with half the face value.  Greece needs the deal to secure a crucial installment of bailout loans and avoid missing an upcoming bond payment. But the deal has been in the works for weeks and could still fall apart.  The Dow Jones industrial average dipped 6.74 points, or 0.05%, to 12,653.70. Financial stocks were the worst performers in the broader market, with Bank of America (BAC) down 3%. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 4.61, or 0.25%, to 1,313.02. The Nasdaq composite index slipped 4.61, or 0.16%, to 2,811.94.  Nearly two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was light at 3.5 billion shares.  Dow Jones industrial average, five trading days  U.S. Treasury prices rose, pushing yields to their lowest level this year. The euro dropped 0.6% against the dollar, and European stocks sank.  Borrowing costs for European countries with the largest debt burdens shot higher Monday. The two-year interest rate for Portugal's government debt jumped to 21% after trading around 14% last week.  In addition to the Greek debt problem, European leaders gathering in Brussels hope to focus on how to stimulate economic growth and create jobs at a time when huge government spending cuts threaten to push many countries back into recession.  The latest data showed Spain was a step closer to recession after its economy shrank in the last three months of 2011.  Experts say Europe's efforts to cut its high levels of debt will be for nothing if its economies remain uncompetitive. The leaders will also discuss a new treaty on tightening budget controls and setting up a permanent bailout fund.  But the meeting will be dominated by another topic that is not officially for discussion — Greece's debt problem.  Greece has reached a tentative deal with its private creditors that could avert a disastrous default this spring. Investors holding €206 billion ($272 billion) in Greek bonds would exchange them for bonds with half the face value. The replacement bonds would have a longer maturity and pay a lower interest rate. When the bonds mature, Greece would have to pay its bondholders only €103 billion.  But because Greece has been in recession for years, some experts fear it could need more rescue loans from its bailout partners — other eurozone countries and the International Monetary Fund— if it is to remain solvent.  Richer countries like Germany, however, are losing patience with giving Athens loans, saying the Greek government is not implementing reforms and austerity cuts quickly enough.  A German official even proposed to have an EU official directly oversee Athens' government spending. The idea was quickly rejected, however, by both the European Commission and Greek leaders.  Despite progress in Greece's debt talks with private creditors, the continued uncertainty over its finances pushed markets lower Monday.  Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.1%. Germany's DAX was off 1%. France's CAC-40 shed 1.6%.  Sentiment, which has been relatively buoyant so far this year on hopes for a recovery in the U.S., was also dented by Fitch Ratings agency's announcement late Friday that it had downgraded five eurozone countries, including Italy and Spain.  Looking ahead, investors will keep an eye on an Italian bond auction and more earnings, which were mixed Monday in Europe — airline Ryanair beat expectations but appliances maker Philips disappointed.  In Asia, most indexes closed lower as investors there reacted to Friday's release of data showing the U.S. economy grew more slowly than expected in the last three months of 2011. The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8% in the October-December quarter, lower than the 3% that economists were expecting.  Japan's Nikkei 225 index shed 0.5% to close at 8,793.05. South Korea's Kospi was 1.2% lower at 1,940.55 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.7% to 20,160.41. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.4% at 4,272.70.  Benchmarks in mainland China, Singapore, Indonesia, India and the Philippines also fell. Taiwan and New Zealand rose.  Japan's Mitsubishi Electric plummeted 14.8% after the Defense Ministry and the Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center said they would not sign contracts with the electric machinery manufacturer, which acknowledged it had overcharged on defense and space-related projects, Kyodo News agency reported.  Traders are awaiting more data this week for clues about which way the U.S. economy is headed. On Wednesday, the Institute for Supply Management will release its manufacturing index for January and the U.S. Labor Department will release monthly employment data Friday.  "Because the market has been expecting rather good economic data from the U.S. … I am afraid if those figures disappoint the market, it may trigger further correction in the stock market," said Louis Wong, dealing director of Phillip Securities Ltd.  Benchmark oil for March delivery fell 78 cents to $98.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 14 cents to end at $99.56 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.  In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3127 from $1.3208 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 76.18 yen from 76.72 yen.  Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.
Uncertainty about a deal to resolve Greece's debt crisis weighed on investor sentiment, as did a summit of European leaders.