December 28, 2012- Stocks Close Sharply Lower on Negative Response to Fiscal Deadline

With worries about the looming fiscal cliff continuing to weigh on investor sentiment, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Friday. Selling pressure intensified late in the day amid a negative reaction to headlines regarding last-minute budget negotiations. The major averages accelerated to the downside going into the close, ending the session near their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 158.20 points or 1.2 percent to 12,938.11, the Nasdaq fell 25.60 points or 0.9 percent to 2,960.31 and the S&P 500 slid 15.67 points or 1.1 percent to 1,402.43. The losses on the day extended a recent downtrend by the major averages, which fell sharply for the holiday-interrupted week. The Nasdaq tumbled by 2 percent, while the Dow and the S&P 500 both dropped by 1.9 percent. The weakness on Wall Street came as traders grew increasingly worried about the U.S. going over the fiscal cliff, with lawmakers in Washington running out of time to reach a budget agreement.