Stocks initially opened higher after German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated to CNBC that Germany wants Greece to stay in the euro , but conflicting news that the ECB has halted monetary policy operations to certain Greek banks spooked markets. Shortly after, a different headline said the central bank is only "considering freezing" assets unless the government speeds up the process of recapitalizing the lenders.

Earlier this week, Greece's leaders failed to reach an agreement on a coalition government and President Karolos Papoulias said Greek depositors withdrew 700 million euros from the nation's local banks recently. The country temporarily put a senior judge in charge of an emergency government to eventually lead the nation to new elections on June 17 .

Meanwhile, "a couple" of Fed policymakers were in favor of further quantitative easing if the economy falters, according to the central bank's latest meeting minutes. Members also expressed concern over the ongoing crisis in Europe and the potential downside risks from contractionary U.S. fiscal policy.

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