Stocks Fall Sharply on Fiscal Cliff Worries
Stocks fell sharply in trading today, with all three major indexes finishing the day in red, amid concerns over the fiscal cliff.
The Dow Jones ended the day 0.56% lower at 13,170.72, the S&P 500 ended the day 0.63% lower at 1,419.45, and the Nasdaq ended the day 0.72% lower at 2,992.16.
All sectors in the S&P 500 except Transportation ended the day in red. Consumer Cyclical sector led the losses in the S&P 500 today, ending the day 0.93% lower. Technology sector also fell sharply, ending the day 0.80% lower. Energy sector ended the day 0.77% lower, while Basic Materials sector ended the day 0.72% lower. Financials ended the day 0.38% lower. Transportation sector finished the day 0.05% higher.
Investors’ sentiment was weighed down by concerns over the fiscal cliff. Speaking at a press conference, House Speaker John Boehner said that the President still has not made an offer that meets the standards, but Republicans have. Boehner said that serious differences remain between him and President Obama. He added that it is clear that the President is just not serious about cutting spending, but spending is the problem.
Market sentiment was also negatively impacted after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on U.K. to negative from stable and said that there is one-in-three change that the country’s sovereign rating could be lowered if economic and fiscal performances weaken beyond current expectations.
Among the major movers in trading today were Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE: BBY), which ended the day 15.93% higher at $14.12, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), which ended the day 1.73% lower at $529.69, and Clearwire Corporation (NASDAQ: CLWR), which ended the day 14.91% higher at $3.16.
On the economic front, a report from the Labor Department showed that initial jobless claims fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000 last week. A separate report from the Labor Department showed that producer prices fell for the second month in November. Meanwhile, retail sales rose in November, according to a report from the Commerce Department.
European markets ended mostly lower earlier today, with the FTSE 100 Index in London closing 0.27% lower, and the CAC 40 Index in Paris closing 0.10% lower. Asian markets ended on a mixed note overnight, with the Nikkei 225 Index in Japan closing 1.68% higher, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closing 0.26% lower.
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Post Written By: Ed Liston
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.
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