U.S. stocks ended the choppy session in negative area on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing for the sixth straight day, as the deadline of debt talks is drawing near.
The weeklong slide came as the debt talks in Washington showed no signs of progress. More and more investors were worried that Congress could not reach a reliable deficit compromise before the Aug. 2 deadline, which would lead to a downgrade on the U.S. debt, even if the debt limit is raised in time.
U.S. President Barack Obama urged Congress to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling as soon as possible to avoid the catastrophe.
"There are multiple ways to resolve the debt ceiling mess, but it has to be bipartisan and it has to happen fast,q Obama said." We're almost out of time."
Also weighing heavily on the market, the country's gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter, after having grown at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the first quarter, which is also sharply revised down from the previously estimates of 1.7 percent, according to the Commerce Department.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 96.87 points, or 0.79 percent, to 12,143.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 8.39 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,292.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 9.87 points, or 0.36 percent, to 2,756.38.
