Stocks Close Sharply Lower; Dow Off About 171 Points

U.S. stocks finished with sizable losses Thursday, weighed down in part by fresh Greek drama and U.S. economic reports that helped make an interest-rate hike this year look more likely. The S&P 500 dropped 18.21 points, or 0.9%, to close at 2,095.89, according to early data. Materials and energy stocks fared worst in the S&P 500 as oil and metals slumped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 170.69 points, or 0.9%, to end at 17,905.58. The U.S. stock market also tracked a selloff in Europe, where stocks finished lower as bond-market choppiness lured investors out of riskier assets. U.S. stocks briefly erased losses and turned roughly flat after the International Monetary Fund called for the Federal Reserve to delay any rate hike until 2016, but the recovery didn't last. In the latest twist in Greece's ongoing crisis, the debt-laden country told the IMF that it plans on bundling four loan repayments due in June, with the first due Friday, into one payment for June 30.

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