"U.S. stocks were little changed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 facing a possible fifth straight day of declines, as the lack of progress in Washington threatened a government shutdown in just six days.
Investors weighed the potential for a U.S. government shutdown against the possibility of a last-minute deal in Congress, keeping indexes near the unchanged mark. Traders also grappled with uncertainty about Federal Reserve policy after the central bank's decision last week to keep its stimulus measures intact.
"As a result, short term, there isn't a clear trade to make a big bet on."
Texas Senator Ted Cruz delivered marathon diatribe of nearly 22 hours against President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul, which delayed Senate consideration of a stop-gap funding measure needed to fund government agencies until November.
Adding to the drama, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew warned Congress that the United States would exhaust its borrowing capacity by October 17.
Data showed orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods barely grew in August, in a possible sign that companies are holding back on investments due to uncertainty over government spending. A separate report showed sales of new single-family homes rose in August but held near their lowest levels this year, as a sharp rise in interest rates weighed on the U.S. economy".
Source; Reuters
