Stocks sink after Republicans in House cancel budget vote
BY Associated Press
Saturday, December 22, 2012
12/22/12 at 4:38 AM
Investors sent Washington a reminder Friday that Wall Street is a power player in budget talks to avoid the "fiscal cliff."
Stocks fell sharply after House Republicans called off a vote on tax rates and left federal budget talks in disarray 10 days before sweeping tax increases and government spending cuts are scheduled to take effect.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost as much as 189 points before closing down 120.88 points, or 0.9 percent, at 13,190.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13.54 points to 1,430.15. The Nasdaq composite index declined 29.38 to 3,021.01.
The market's decline demonstrated that investors' nerves are raw as they await a resolution.
"The more the clock ticks, the more the market is saying, 'Just give us something,' " said Quincy Krosby, a market strategist at Prudential Financial.
"Believe you me," he said, "if you think that there is a recession in the offing, you are going to see this market sell off. It's sell off first, ask questions later."
For the year, the Dow is up 973.28, or 8 percent; the S&P is up 172.55, or 13.7 percent; and the Nasdaq is up 415.86, or 16 percent.
