NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are closing mixed after news out of Greece yanked indexes lower shortly before the closing bell.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2 points Tuesday to close at 12,503.

Markets were higher for most of the day after the National Association of Realtors said Americans bought more houses in April.

But a half-hour before the close, news that Greece's former prime minister said the country was considering dropping the euro sent markets lower.

The Nasdaq dropped 8 points to 2,839. The Standard & Poor's 500 inched up less than a point to 1,317. It was up 12 points earlier.

Rising stocks outpaced falling ones by a small margin on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was higher than average at 4.1 billion.