NEW YORK (AFP) - US stocks gave up late gains Wednesday after the European Central Bank put fresh pressure on Athens by lifting its waiver on the use of Greek bonds as collateral.

The move darkened hopes that Greece's new government could quickly reach a deal on modifying their bailout and avoid a new euro zone crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 17,637.02, up 6.62 points (0.04 per cent). The index lost more than 100 points in the last half hour after the ECB announcement.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 8.52 (0.42 per cent) to 2,041.51, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index lost 11.03 (0.23 per cent) at 4,716.70.