Stocks Slip Awaiting Budget Movement

Wall Street stocks edged down on Friday, the final trading day of the month, amid a cautious mood as investors kept their focus firmly on budget talks in Washington.

The Standard Poor’s 500-stock index slipped 0.3 percent by midday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.3 percent.

Trading has been choppy lately, as investors buy on sporadic dips in the market and react to mixed reports regarding progress in talks on averting the spending cuts and tax increases that will come into effect in the new year.

“Thus far, we have nothing,” said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist, at Miller Tabak Co. in New York, of results of the White House’s discussions with Congress.

Still, “it appears that the market remains comfortable John Boehner’s perspective that there is still a workable framework behind the negotiations,” he said.

House Speaker Boehner said Thursday that no substantive progress had been made in fiscal negotiations with the White House, and criticized Democrats for failing to get serious about including spending cuts in a final deal.

Among individual stocks, Facebook and Zynga revised terms of a partnership agreement between the companies; under the new pact, Zynga will have limited ability to promote its site on Facebook. Zynga shares were down 7.5 percent. Facebook shares were down 1.2 percent.

Whole Foods Market announced a special cash dividend of $2 per share. In expectation of higher dividend tax rates in 2013, companies have been shifting dividends or announcing special payouts to shareholders.

Japan’s Nikkei average hit a seven-month closing high on Friday as a weaker yen, driven by expectations the Bank of Japan will act more boldly under a likely new government following Dec. 16 elections, lifted the shares of exporters.

European shares ended mixed at 15-month highs as investors squared the books on the final trading day of the month, with eyes on American budget talks. The FTSE 100 index in London was up 0.1 percent.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/business/daily-stock-market-activity.html?partner=rss&emc=rss