· The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 76.77 points, or 0.31 percent, to close at 24,508.66, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 10.84 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,652.01and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 19.27 points, or 0.28 percent, to 6,856.53.
Major U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday, with the S&P 500 down the most in a month, as investor worries over potential roadblocks to the Republicans’ tax overhaul more than offset optimism over strong retail sales data.
Though congressional Republicans had reached a deal on final tax legislation on Wednesday, Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Mike Lee said on Thursday they would not get behind the bill without changes to child tax credits.
As the fast-moving Republican tax revamp has evolved, it has tilted increasingly toward benefiting businesses and wealthy taxpayers, a trend that aides were saying privately is a growing concern for some lawmakers. Equity investors worry that stocks could tumble if the bill fails.
· Asian markets traded mixed on Friday, with Japanese markets leading declines in the region after U.S. markets closed in the red.
· Japan's Nikkei 225 came under pressure, sliding 0.82 percent early in the session. Major exporters traded lower as the dollar lost ground against the yen. Toyota fell 1.73 percent and Sony was 0.4 percent lower. Major banking names saw losses of around 1 percent.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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