U.S. markets stumble early

Stock markets on Wall Street slipped Tuesday, following a slide in Europe as talks with creditors holding Greek debt continued to hit roadblocks. Without an agreement, Greece would not be eligible for the next disbursement of international aid that is necessary to meet its debt obligations that come due in late March. In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 61.68 points, 0.49 percent, to 12,647.14. The Standard & Poor\'s 500 index shed 6.11 points, 0.46 percent, to 1,309.89. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 6.36 points, 0.23 percent, to 2,777.81. The benchmark 10-year treasury fell 4/32 to yield 2.069 percent. The euro fell to $1.2979 from Monday\'s $1.3016. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 77.79 yen from 77.03 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 19.43 points, 0.22 percent, to 8,785.33.