Stocks to open mixed amid Europe fears Stocks are set to open mixed Friday, amid caution ahead of another round of debt-reduction talks between Greece and its private creditors that could determine whether Europe's debt crisis flares up again. While meeting with debt inspectors from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the Greek government is also holding a third day of talks with creditors over a deal to get them to reduce the value of their Greek bond holdings. Greece is seeking to get creditors to agree a €100 billion ($129 billion) writedown. Heads of the inspection team are meeting with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos ahead of the next round of discussions with the creditors. A deal is necessary if Greece is to get the next batch of bailout cash that would prevent a devastating debt default - Greece does not have enough money to cover a €14.5 billion bond repayment in March. Last October, Greece's partners in the eurozone sanctioned a deal whereby private creditors would take a cut in the value of their bond holdings to help lighten the country's debt burden. Hopes for such a deal as well as a run of successful European bond auctions and solid economic and corporate news, not least from the U.S. and China, have helped shore up market sentiment in recent days. Many stock indexes have risen to five-month highs, while the euro has clambered off 17-month dollar lows. Having booked such gains, investors were more cautious on Friday. "Optimism of a deal beginning to fade as the weekend approaches," said Michael Hewson, markets analyst at CMC Markets. Wall Street analysts warned that the recent optimism in the markets could disappear if Greece fails to successfully conclude its debt-reduction negotiations with the Institute of International Finance, which represents private sector bondholders. General Electric Co's fourth-quarter results, expected Friday, will show whether the largest U.S. conglomerate's sizable emerging-markets footprint is offsetting weakness in Europe. A strong outlook from IBM and decent results from Intel Corp and Microsoft Corp late on Thursday suggested corporate decision makers were shaking off nervousness about economic growth and boosting spending on technology. Google Inc's quarterly results on Thursday fell short of Wall Street's heightened expectations for the crucial holiday shopping period, wiping 9 percent off its shares. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) releases existing home sales for December later Friday. Economists forecast a 4.65 million annual rate in December, versus 4.42 million annual rate in November. General Motors Co regained its title as the world's top-selling automaker from Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp in 2011, but the U.S. company faces a challenge to stay on top this year as Toyota rebuilds its disaster-struck business.