December 28, 2012-Stocks Look for Direction as Fiscal Deadline Looms

Wall Street is likely to see another lackluster run, as indicated by the U.S. index futures, which point to a lower open. President Barack Obama and Republicans are expected to have another round of discussions to break the deadlock on the budget negotiations. The Asian markets traded higher on hopes of a breakthrough deal, while European stocks are showing some degree of nervousness ahead of the talks. Commodities are firmer despite the dwindling risk appetite. While reacting to the scheduled talks, the markets may also stay tuned to a housing and manufacturing data due after the markets open. The Dow futures are declining 45 points, the S&P 500 futures are moving down 4.80 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are retreating 10.50 points. U.S. stocks closed well off the lows of the session on Thursday amid hopes that the fiscal cliff will be negotiated without much of hurt to the economy and amid the release of some mixed economic data.