NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday as talks to avert a fiscal crisis by the end of the year turned sour following recent progress, even as the market's moderate decline points to expectations that a deal will be reached.
President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans are struggling to come up with a deal to avoid early 2013 tax hikes and spending cuts that many economists say could pull the U.S. economy back into recession.
House Speaker John Boehner said his chamber will pass a proposal that Obama had already threatened to veto as it spares many wealthy Americans from tax hikes needed to balance the budget. Obama has already agreed to reductions in benefits for senior citizens.
"My guess is they're close to a deal, and right before, it looks like the deal is about to blow up either on manufactured or legitimate reasons," said Uri Landesman, president of hedge fund Platinum Partners in New York.
He said if the market thought the deal was off, the S&P 500 would slide below 1,400. It stands now near 1,440, nor far from a two-month high.
The CBOE volatility index <.vix> surged 10.2 percent to trade above 17, but has remained relatively stable. Its 14- 50- and 200-day averages are all within 1.2 points.
Landesman said the VIX's stability indicates "the bulls have control of this market still."
The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 63.01 points, or 0.47 percent, to 13,287.95. The S&P 500 <.spx> lost 7.77 points, or 0.59 percent, to 1,439.02. The Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 4.97 points, or 0.16 percent, to 3,049.56.
General Motors
Banks and energy shares - groups that outperform during periods of economic expansion - have led recent gains, indicating a shift to focusing on a growing economy as Wall Street looks past the budget talks.
The S&P 500 added 2.3 percent over the past two sessions, the first time it has marked two straight days of 1 percent gains since late July.
Defensive sectors led the downside on Wednesday, with the S&P health care sector index <.gspa> down 0.9 percent.
Oracle
Knight Capital Group Inc
Data showed homebuilding permits touched their highest level in nearly 4-1/2 years in November. The PHLX housing index <.hgx> fell 0.6 percent, but is up nearly 70 percent this year as the housing market has turned the corner.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)
Wall St slips as "cliff" talks sour, but hopes remain
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Wall St slips as "cliff" talks sour, but hopes remain
