Greece, creditors weight heavily on market activity

U.S. stocks recouped most of their losses in a swift, late reversal Tuesday, as investors reassessed Greece’s prospects for getting new bailout money and U.S. retail sales that, while weaker than expected, still showed improvement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 4.24 points, or 0.03 percent, to close at 12,878.28, recovering from an 87-point loss. Out of 30 components, 16 gained, led by a 1.1 percent rise in Hewlett-Packard Co. shares.

The S&P 500 ended down 1.27 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,350.5. Materials and financials were the weakest, while consumer staples and health care rose the most. At one point during the day, all 10 S&P 500 sectors were lower.

The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.44 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,931.83.

Though it was on the backburner for most of the day, Greece and the likelihood its political leaders would be able to pass and implement the scale of budget cuts European and international creditors want before they issue a new round of bailout money rose into the headlines as the closing bell neared.

Cancer drug maker warns doctors of counterfeit vials

The maker of the best-selling cancer drug Avastin is warning doctors and patients about counterfeit vials of the product distributed in the U.S.

Roche’s Genentech unit says the fake products do not contain the key ingredient in Avastin, which is used to treat cancers of the colon, lung, kidney and brain.

A spokeswoman said the counterfeit drug has been distributed to health care facilities in the U.S., though it’s unclear how many products are in circulation or where they may be concentrated. The company is working with the Food and Drug Administration to track down the counterfeit vials and analyze their contents.

“We’re still analyzing what it is, we know it doesn’t contain the active ingredient in Avastin,” said Genentech spokeswoman Charlotte Arnold.

Obama’s Milwaukee visit to note return of jobs from China

President Barack Obama will try to use his visit today to a Milwaukee padlock manufacturer to highlight an improving economy and showcase companies that are bringing jobs back to the U.S., even though the Wisconsin company’s success isn’t reflective of the state.

Master Lock, which Obama mentioned in his State of the Union address, is a good story for the president – especially in Wisconsin. It’s a unionized company that recently brought back 100 jobs from China, and the state’s Republican governor is being targeted for recall largely because of his proposal that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

However, in the face of national growth, Wisconsin has lost private sector jobs in each of the past six months. Democrats have been using that to hammer embattled Gov. Scott Walker, who promised during his 2010 campaign to create 250,000 jobs.

Obama’s visit to Wisconsin will be his first in more than a year and a recognition that he must win the state, which he carried by 14 points in 2008 but where Republicans captured nearly every statewide office two years later. Wednesday also marks the one-year anniversary of the first widespread protests against Walker’s union proposal.