US markets fell; S&P halts two-session winning streak

11 Dec 2013 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 retreating from the previous session’s record close and halting a two-session winning streak. With no major economic data on the calendar, investors tracked US budget talks and continued to weigh whether a reduction in bond buying will come at next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. House and Senate negotiators reached a deal to set spending levels for the next two years and replace some automatic budget cuts, an agreement that heads off the threat of a government shutdown next month. The House and Senate will still need to approve the deal, which sets federal agency spending levels at $1.012 trillion for the current fiscal year. On the economy front, small-business optimism edged higher in November on plans to increase employment and to expand. The National Federation of Independent Business said its small-business optimism index rose 0.9 points to 92.5. Besides, US Census Bureau stated that wholesale inventories increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in October, compared to expectations for a 0.3% increase. Wholesale inventories rose by 0.5% in September.

Meanwhile, US employers advertised the most job openings in more than five years in October, and the number of people quitting also reached a five-year high. The figures are an encouraging sign for the unemployed. The Labor Department stated that job openings rose 1 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.93 million. That is the highest figure since March 2008, three months after the Great Recession began. And the number of workers who quit rose 2.5 per cent to 2.39 million, the most since October 2008. More workers quitting can signal a healthy job market, because most of those people likely either have a new job or are confident they can find one.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 52.40 points or 0.33 percent to 15,973.13, the S&P 500 was down 5.75 points or 0.32 percent to 1,802.62, while Nasdaq dropped 8.26 points or 0.20 percent to 4,060.49.

Indian ADRs closed in red on Tuesday; ICICI Bank was down 1.49%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab was down 0.50%, Tata Motors was down by 0.34%, HDFC Bank was down 0.31% and Infosys was down 0.12%.   

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