In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, trader Gregory Rowe, left, and specialist Glenn Carell work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Hopes that Greece will eventually reach a deal with private creditors on lowering its debt supported markets on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, as investors looked past delays in reaching an agreement that would further ease Europe's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
In this Jan. 18, 2012 photo, trader Gregory Rowe, left, and specialist Glenn Carell work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Hopes that Greece will eventually reach a deal with private creditors on lowering its debt supported markets on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, as investors looked past delays in reaching an agreement that would further ease Europe's debt crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are swinging between small gains and losses in midday trading Monday. European stock indexes and the euro rose on hopes that Greece will reach a deal with private creditors on lowering its debt. The euro neared its highest level against the dollar this year.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 49 points to 12,670 as of 12:15 p.m. Eastern time. Procter & Gamble fell 1.7 percent, the biggest drop in the Dow.
Creditors are in negotiations with the Greek government to reduce that country's debt burden to help it avoid default. European finance ministers are expected to give new momentum to a debt-relief deal. One proposal would have Greece's private creditors, mostly banks and big investors, swap their bonds for new ones that are worth 50 percent less.
The euro rose 1.2 percent to $1.302, its highest point since Jan. 3.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 5 points to 1,310, a fall of 0.4 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 15 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,771.
Stocks are still off to a strong start in 2012, as investors' biggest fears have slowly faded. Stronger than expected job growth in the U.S. and falling borrowing costs for European governments have helped the S&P 500 index post gains for three weeks in a row. The index is now up 4.2 percent for the year.
Maybe the biggest boon to markets this year is the lack of scary headlines, said Jeff Lancaster, a principal at the investment firm Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough. "When everybody is feeling distressed, anxious and worried as they were at the end of last year, it doesn't take a lot of good news for the mood to change," he said. "It just takes a diminishing quantity of bad news."
Energy companies were making large moves in early trading. Chesapeake Energy Corp. jumped 4 percent after the country's second-largest natural gas producer said it plans to cut production, a response to plunging prices. Natural gas futures rose 4.8 percent to $2.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gas futures were trading above $4 just six months ago.
Stocks of other gas producers shot higher. Southwestern Energy Co. rose 7.4 percent and Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. 6.8 percent.
Apache Corp. inched up less than 1 percent after the oil and gas producer said it plans on buying Cordillera Energy Partners in a $2.85 billion deal. It's the largest merger announced in the U.S. this year.
Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of BlackBerry mobile devices, sank 6.8 percent after its new chief executive said no drastic changes are needed. The company's founders announced they were stepping down as co-CEOs late Sunday.
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