US stock market ends lower as federal government nears partial shutdown

9/30/2013

NEW YORK — Stocks are closing lower as Wall Street braces for a government shutdown.

Investors pulled back from stocks today 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 tonight 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 this afternoon, hours before the deadline.

The dispute is poised to continue into mid-October as legislators debate raising the nation’s borrowing limit.