A mid-afternoon rally fueled by speculation, Monday, that Senate Democrats were working on a measure that would increase the government's borrowing authority prior to an October-17 deadline faded, with shares finishing near their session lows.
Four-Week Lows
As the stalemate in Washinton dragged on, the broad market reacted, driving the S&P 500 down to its lowest close in four weeks. All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 finished lower, led by declines for shares of consumer discretionary and financial stocks. Mining and materials stocks also slid hard despite a moderate rally for gold and silver.
Washington continued to be the catalyst for additional losses in the global equity markets as investors keep a wary eye on a October deadline for Congress to authorize additional borrowing over its existing debt limit. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew toured the interview shows, Sunday, repeating his warning that Congress is "playing with fire" by opposing an increase to the debt ceiling above its current $16.7 trillion threshold. "I'm telling you that on the 17th, we run out of our ability to borrow," he said on CNN.
Senate Democrats this afternoon reportedly were working on debt-ceiling legislation with no other terms tied to its passage. The bill, according to reports, would allow the federal government to automatically borrow more money as it reaches certain limits unless a two-thirds majority of both houses vote against it.
The partial government shutdown -- now in its seventh day -- kept a lid on most economic reports with only the Gallup U.S. Consumer Spending Measure available as a measure of economic activity. The self-reported reading of American's spending habits slipped from a five-year high of $95 per person in August to $84 in September - the lowest monthly figure since February.
Commodities
Crude oil for November delivery settled 81 cents lower at $103.03 per barrel while November natural gas jumped 12 cents higher to $3.63 per 1 million BTU. December gold added $15.20 per ounce while December silver rose 63 cents to $22.36 per ounce. December copper was unchanged at $3.29 per pound.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At Day's End
- Dow Jones Industrial Average down 136.34 (-0.90%) to 14,936.24
- S&P 500 down 14.38 (-0.85%) to 1,676.12
- Nasdaq Composite Index down 37.38 (-0.98%) to 3,770.38
- Hang Seng Index down 0.71%
- Shanghai China Composite Index up 0.68%
- FTSE 100 Index down 0.26%
- (+) APRI, The biopharmaceutical company has wins national phase approval in Germany for its Vitaros cream to treat erectile dysfunction, opening access to Europe's biggest market.
- (+) LTBR, Nuclear-power company selected to be technical adviser for new plants to be built and operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. in South Korea
- (+) CTIC, Reaches deal with FDA for a Special Protocol Assessment for Phase III testing of its pacritinib drug candidate in patients with myelofibrosis.
- (-) ATOS, Voluntarily recalls its ForeCYTE Breast Health Test and the Mammary Aspiration Specimen Cytology Test to "address concerns raised by the FDA."
- (-) ACFN, Said Q3, FY13 and FY14 EPS will be "materially" below consensus expectations.
- (-) CTB, Apollo Tyres moves to cut its acquisition costs for the rival tire-maker for the deal's current $2.5 billion.
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