US markets drop ahead of budget talks

27 Dec 2012 Evaluate

The US markets closed lower on Wednesday, extending losses into a third session as retailers were hit after the holiday and as investors looked to the next day’s resumption of budget talks. The Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stated that the department will soon begin making accounting moves so that the United States can put off hitting its debt ceiling at the end of the month. In a letter to congressional leaders, Geithner stated that the government would hit the $16.4 trillion debt ceiling on December 31 unless authorized the extraordinary measures. The temporary moves would create $200 billion in headroom, according to Geithner. Obama and Congress both have five days before a deadline that would start to trigger more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that might cause a US recession. Boehner and Obama have been unable to agree on the tax-rate increase on top earners Obama wants or the cuts to entitlement programs that Boehner seeks, complicating the chances of getting a package done. Both parties have begun work on minimal deficit-reduction proposals, aimed at avoiding the automatic tax increases and spending cuts while a bigger package is negotiated.

Besides, with the holiday season turning out to be a dud, retailers are hoping that post-Christmas sales and getting shoppers to think about their New Year’s resolutions will help deliver a punch needed to close 2012 on a better note. So far, data from researchers have shown disappointing seasonal sales through Christmas even though traffic and sales did see a pickup this past weekend. On the other hand, home prices rose 4.3% in October from a year ago, bolstering the view of an improving US housing market. The US home prices ticked down in October on seasonal weakness, while a longer-term trend shows a sustained recovery, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller index released. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite posted a non-seasonally adjusted 0.1% decrease in October following a 0.2% gain in September. After seasonal adjustments, prices rose 0.7% in October.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 24.49 points or 0.19 percent to 13,114.60, the Nasdaq lost 22.44 points or 0.74 percent to 2,990.16 and the S&P 500 closed lower by 6.83 points or 0.48 percent to 1,419.83.

Indian ADRs ended mostly in green on Wednesday, Dr Reddy’s lab was up by 0.34%, Infosys was up 0.20% and ICICI Bank was up 0.09%. On the other hand, Tata Motors was down by 0.13% and MTNL was down by 0.02%.

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