Flat open on Wall Street as budget talks loom
ASSOCIATED PRESS December 4, 2012 8:16AM
FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2012, file photo, traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange, in New York. World stock markets meandered Tuesday, Dec. 4, as traders weighed a surprise drop in U.S. factory production against hopes that the U.S. will avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Updated: December 4, 2012 8:52AM
NEW YORK — Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street as budget talks continue in Washington.
Discount retailer Big Lots soared 8 percent after beating analysts’ earnings forecasts and raising its estimate for full-year earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 13 points at 12,978 shortly after the opening bell Tuesday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index was up a fraction at 1,409 and the Nasdaq composite index fell two points to 2,999.
Pep Boys fell 9 percent after posting a loss on weak sales at the company’s auto stores and rising costs.
In Washington, talks are proceeding on how to avoid a fiscal crunch of higher taxes and government spending cuts set to automatically kick in at the beginning of the year.
