DHAKA: United States stocks fell on Wednesday as a partial government shutdown in Washington entered a second day, adding to concerns over how soon a political compromise would be reached.

All ten S&P 500 sectors were lower, with material stocks the weakest, off 0.8 percent.

Chemical maker OM Group fell 4.1 percent to US$32.68 while Alcoa Inc lost 2.2 percent to US$7.99.

Alcoa was also pressured by a downgrade by Deutsche Bank, reports The Straits Times.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 105.77 points, or 0.70 percent, at 15,085.93.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was down 9.75 points, or 0.58 percent, at 1,685.25.

The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 15.31 points, or 0.40 percent, at 3,802.67.

There were few signs that Congress was making progress in agreeing on a spending Bill that would reopen operations.

The Democratic-led US Senate voted on Tuesday to kill Republicans’ latest attempts to modify an emergency funding Bill, and sent a ‘clean’ measure back to the House of Representatives that would extend funding for government agencies until November 15.

BDST: 2035 HRS, OCT 02, 2013
RoR/SRS