Major indexes had fallen more than 1 percent as negotiations between the  Greek government  and private bondholders over the restructuring of 200 billion euros of debt failed to reach an agreement before the start of a summit of European leaders.

But by the afternoon those losses were cut sharply. Optimism that the U.S. markets can shrug off  Europe's troubles has fueled gains in 2012, with the S& P 500 up 4.7 percent this month. Money managers, some of whom missed the upward move, appear willing to buy on intraday declines.

" The action that we've seen today is very similar to what we've seen throughout most of the year so far," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at  RBC Global Asset Management  in Chicago. " We see the resilience showing in U.S. markets and I think that's a theme that we've seen throughout 2012."

" The U.S. appears to be slowly, slowly in the early stages of a decoupling from the euro zone," he said......///

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-30/eu-stumbles-over-greek-aid-package-as-merkel-signals-debt-agreement-delay.html

EU Stumbles as Merkel Signals Greece Debt Deal Delay

European leaders sparred with Greece over a second rescue program...and tougher budgeting rules.

Greece faced criticism that its economic makeover is faltering...