Stocks end lower as US nears shutdown
US stock market ends lower as federal government nears partial shutdown
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wa. joins other Republican House Members as they call on Senate Democrats to "come back to work" on the Senate Steps of the U.S. Capitol Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013 as the United States braces for a partial government shutdown Tuesday after the White House and congressional Democrats declared they would reject a bill approved by the Republican-led House to delay implementing President Barack Obama's health care reform. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are closing lower as Wall Street braces for a government shutdown.
Investors pulled back from stocks Monday as a budget fight in Congress threatened to push the federal government into a partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years. Lawmakers have until midnight Tuesday to reach a budget deal that would keep government in full operation
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128 points to close at 15,129. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 10 points to 1,681. The Nasdaq fell 10 points to 3,771.
There was little evidence that the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives were any closer to a budget agreement Monday afternoon, hours before the deadline.
The dispute is poised to continue into mid-October as legislators debate raising the nation's borrowing limit.
