Courtesy of John Nyaradi.
Stocks slid further on Wednesday as the budget deadline approached, with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Stocks extended their losing streak to a fifth day as the budget battle on Capitol Hill continued. Beyond that, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew 
reminded Congress that we will hit the debt ceiling on October 17. The bearishness inspired by the dysfunction in Washington combined with bad news from Wal-Mart (NYSEARCA:WMT) to put investors in a risk-averse mood, sending stock prices lower.
After Wal-Mart notified its suppliers that an ever-increasing pile of inventory was exceeding its warehouse capacity, the company’s stock price sank 1.45 percent. The news raised concerns among investors about the outlook for consumer spending as well as the upcoming Christmas shopping season. Expectations for a 3Q Earnings Season Fall
The report on New Home Sales during August from the Commerce Department’s Census Bureau turned out to be another disappointment. Although the report indicated that the sale of new homes increased to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 421,000 from July’s SAAR of 390,000 the result fell short of economists’ expectations for a SAAR of 425,000. Despite the disappointment, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (NYSEARCA:XHB) finished the day with a 0.13 percent advance.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSEARCA:DIA) lost 61 points to finish Wednesday’s trading session at 15,273 for a 0.40 percent decline. The S&P 500 (NYSEARCA:SPY) fell 0.27 percent to close at 1,692.
The Nasdaq 100 (NASDAQ:QQQ) declined 0.31 percent to finish at 3,208. The Russell 2000 (NYSEARCA:IWM) dipped 0.11 percent to end the day at 1,073 despite reaching a new, record intraday high of 1,082.00.
In other major markets, oil (NYSEARCA:USO) sank 0.91 percent to close at $36.88.
On London’s ICE Futures Europe Exchange, November futures for Brent crude oil declined 77 cents (0.71 percent) to $107.00/bbl. (NYSEARCA:BNO).
December gold futures rose $17.10 (1.30 percent) to $1,333.40 per ounce (NYSEARCA:GLD).
Transports got stuck in traffic again on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Transportation Average (NYSEARCA:IYT) declining 0.61 percent. Nevertheless, the maritime subsector is doing extraordinarily well. Some of the stocks which we mentioned yesterday had another great session on Wednesday: DryShips (NASDAQ:DRYS) up 9.17 percent; Eagle Bulk Shipping (NASDAQ:EGLE) up 6.79 percent and Baltic Trading (NASDAQ:BALT) up 5.58 percent.
In Japan, stocks sank during the final minutes of trading when the exchange rate for the yen increased as the dollar weakened on fears of a government shutdown. The yen strengthened to 98.60 per dollar before the closing bell in Tokyo. A stronger yen causes Japanese exports to be less competitively priced in foreign markets (NYSEARCA:FXY). The Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.76 percent to 14,620 (NYSEARCA:EWJ).
Stocks retreated in mainland China after China Beige Book International joined ranks with Namura Holdings and Jim Chanos to raise doubts about the strength of the nation’s economic recovery. The Shanghai Composite Index declined 0.41 percent to 2,198 (NYSEARCA:FXI). Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.13 percent to end the session at 23,209 (NYSEARCA:EWH).
European stocks made a modest advance on Wednesday, after the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) reported that its French Business Climate Index rose 3 points to 94 in September (NYSEARCA:EWQ). The index remains slightly below its long-term average of 100. Airbus had a big day after three Chinese airlines ordered a total of 68 A320 planes. The Global Economy is Heating Up
In Germany, GfK reported that while its Consumer Climate Indicator for September remained unchanged at 7.0, its Economic Expectations Indicator jumped to 10.7 from August’s 1.8 (NYSEARCA:EWG).
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