Stocks in neutral as fiscal deadline looms

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)

The Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500 both hovered near the break-even point. The Nasdaq fell about 0.1%.

Less than a week remains for President Obama and Congress to agree to a plan that would avert tax hikes and spending cuts from kicking in automatically on Jan. 1.

Some investors are skeptical that lawmakers will resolve a self-inflicted crisis that could tip the economy into recession, while others are betting on a short-term compromise that prevents the worst and delays more difficult decisions to later in the year.

Either way, the possibility of a deal is keeping the bears at bay, according to Mark Helweg, founder of financial tech company MicroQuant.

"People are expecting some sort of compromise to save the day, so they're hesitant to short the market because news on that front will push the market higher," Helweg said.

Fear & Greed Index

Adding fuel to the fiscal fire, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner sent a letter to Congress after the bell on Wednesday warning that government borrowing will hit the debt ceiling on Monday. As a result, the Treasury Department will soon start using what it calls "extraordinary measures" to prevent government borrowing from exceeding the legal limit.

Such measures include suspending the reinvestment of federal workers' retirement contributions in short-term government bonds.

Full coverage on America's Debt Challenge

In economic news, initial jobless claims came in at 350,000 for the week ending Dec. 22, falling 12,000 from the previous week.

Several economic reports on labor and housing markets, consumer confidence and manufacturing are due throughout the morning.

U.S. stocks faltered Wednesday as political wrangling over the fiscal cliff continued to dominate investor sentiment.

Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) shares slid after the company was blamed for a one-day Netflix Inc (NFLX) service disruption. Meanwhile, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) shares tumbled, after a jury ruled against the chip maker in a $1.17 billion patent infringement case.

Overseas, European markets made narrow gains in the first trading session after the Christmas holiday. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei posting the strongest gains. The index has risen nearly 10% in the past month on expectations of further monetary policy easing and new government measures to stimulate the economy.

The U.S. dollar fell versus the euro and British pound, but gained against the Japanese yen. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note nudged higher to 1.76%. Oil and gold prices were modestly lower.

First Published: December 27, 2012: 9:42 AM ET

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Stocks in neutral as fiscal deadline looms

Dengan url

http://kasiatbuatsehat.blogspot.com/2012/12/stocks-in-neutral-as-fiscal-deadline.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Stocks in neutral as fiscal deadline looms

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Stocks in neutral as fiscal deadline looms

sebagai sumbernya