Dollar, Stocks Slide, Default Risk Rises Amid Debt-Limit Fight
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The dollar slid to a record low versus the Swiss franc, stocks fell and the cost of insuring U.S. debt rose to a 17-month high as Democrats and Republicans continued to wrangle over competing plans to cut the deficit.
The dollar depreciated against all 16 major peers at 4 p.m. in New York and earlier dipped below 80 centimes versus the franc. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lost 0.4 percent to 1,331.94 and the Stoxx Europe 600 Index closed down 0.4 percent. Credit-default swaps on U.S. debt increased two basis point to 58 basis points. The S&P GSCI Index of 24 commodities climbed 0.6 percent, rebounding from a 0.7 percent drop, as zinc, cotton and copper added at least 1.7 percent.