Reuters: US Dollar Report: GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, oil falls on news about US 'fiscal cliff'

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GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares, oil falls on news about US 'fiscal cliff' Dec 13th 2012, 17:16 Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:21pm EST * World shares turn lower on news of impasse over budget talks * Government debt falls on unemployment data * U.S. dollar recovers against most currencies * Oil falls on fears of rising inventories, fiscal cliff talks By Herbert Lash NEW YORK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - World shares and commodity prices slipped on Thursday as investors looked past the Federal Reserve's announcement of further monetary stimulus and set their sights on the unresolved showdown over the U.S. "fiscal cliff." Wall Street turned lower after hovering near break-even after Speaker of the House John Boehner said the "risk remains" that all tax rates will rise at year's end, suggesting an impasse remains in budget talks with President Barack Obama. Analysts said news on U.S. government efforts to avert some $600 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes due in January would drive financial markets after the Fed on Wednesday moved to link its policy to explicit thresholds on unemployment and inflation. "There's a lot of confusion. Nobody knows what's going to happen with the cliff," said Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore. Data showing U.S. retail sales rose in November and jobless claims fell sharply last week were hopeful signs on Thursday for an economy that appears to have slowed sharply this quarter. The news did little to budge the market as investors were cautious in the face of the ongoing budget negotiations. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.33 points, or 0.26 percent, at 13,211.12. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.69 points, or 0.33 percent, at 1,423.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 11.11 points, or 0.37 percent, at 3,002.70. MSCI's all-country world equity index, which had seen seven straight days of gains, fell 0.15 percent at 337.29 points. In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.27 percent to a provisional 1,133.89 points, ending a three-week rally that had pushed prices to 18-month highs. Crude oil prices slipped under $109 a barrel due to rising U.S. oil stockpiles, while fears that the world's largest economy might miss a deadline for next year's budget and risk a recession also kept bulls in check. Benchmark Brent crude fell 61 cents to $108.89 a barrel, but U.S. crude rebounded, rising 14 cents to $86.91. The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB Index, which tracks 19 commodity markets, was down 0.36 percent at 294.1195. U.S. Treasury debt prices eased after data showed claims for unemployment benefits were lower than expected in the latest week, which undermined the safe-haven appeal of lower-risk U.S. government debt. The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was down 6/32 in price to yield 1.7213 percent. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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