Stocks Begin Sharply Lower on Washington Deadlock

U.S. stocks declined sharply at open on Monday, as the partial government shutdown dragged on with no signs of a softening in the positions of politicians over the debt-ceiling limit or budget impasse. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately lost 120.90 points, or 0.80%, to 14,951.68. The S&P 500 dropped 11.17 points, or 0.66%, to 1,679.33. The Nasdaq Composite lost 18.86 points, or 0.50%, to 3,788.89.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner vowed on Sunday not to raise the U.S. debt ceiling without a “serious conversation” about what is driving the debt, while Democrats said it was irresponsible and reckless to raise the possibility of a U.S. default.

With the government shutdown heading toward a second week, economists say it could hold back economic growth, business confidence and corporate earnings, but probably won’t cause a recession. Many money managers doubt the damage will be lasting. Any stock selloff, they say, would be a great buying opportunity.

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd rose more than 4 percent in trading before the bell on Monday,
following news of interest from strategic buyers in the embattled smartphone company and an analyst upgrade on the company’s stock. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is in talks with Cisco Systems , Google Inc and SAP about selling them all or parts of itself.