World stocks down as markets weigh Greece, U.S. growth

World stocks drifted lower Tuesday as markets weighed a possible rebound in U.S. growth against doubts about Greece's ability to make debt payments and stay in the euro currency bloc.

France's CAC 40 dropped 0.6 percent to 4,996.15 and Germany's DAX shed 0.8 percent to 11,344.29. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent to 6,913.53. Futures augured losses for Wall Street: Dow futures edged down slightly and S&P 500 futures dropped 0.3 percent.

Greece's cash-strapped government faced fresh dissent from within the ruling Syriza party after failing to deliver on a promise to reach an agreement with rescue lenders over the weekend. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is struggling to reach a deal with bailout creditors to get more bailout loans, without which it cannot afford debt repayments it owes the IMF this month, starting Friday. But Tsipras faces opposition within his own party to any agreement that extends austerity measures that creditors have been demanding.

"The risks in global markets are simmering under the surface: Grexit, increases to the Fed funds rate, China's equity valuations, Japan's QE program to 'nowhere,' ECB's QE program and Australia's inability to pull up the slowdown in the economy," said IG strategist Evan Lucas in a market commentary.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.1 percent at 20,543.19 while China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.1 percent to 4,910.53. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.5 percent to 27,466.72. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.7 percent to 5,636.00 ahead of a central bank interest rate decision. Seoul's Kospi sank 1.1 percent to 2,078.64.

U.S. manufacturing growth accelerated in May for the first time in six months, propelled by more new orders and an increase in hiring, according to the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group. A separate report showed construction spending climbed in April to the highest level in more than six years. Investors are anxious about U.S. growth following a series of weak data, capped by news Friday that the economy shrank in the first three months of the year. Some analysts say the latest data indicate the economy rebounded in the second quarter.

Benchmark U.S. crude was up 64 cents at $60.83 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The futures contract fell 10 cents to $60.20 in Nymex floor trading on Monday. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, gained 76 cents to $66.63 a barrel in London. It dropped 68 cents to close at $64.88 in the previous trading session.

The euro rose to $1.0972 from $1.0928 on Monday. The dollar slipped to 124.54 yen from 124.81 yen.