U.S. stock markets opened lower as investors worried about a budgetary impasse in Washington that threatens to partially shut down the federal government beginning Tuesday.

Hopes were fading that Congress can reach a last-minute deal and pass a stopgap budget measure to beat a midnight deadline.

President Barack Obama has warned a freeze in non-essential federal spending could have catastrophic effects on the shaky economic recovery, and cost thousands of jobs.

If the deadline expires without a deal the failure will have a global impact. Oil prices slid and European and Asian shares fell, amid fears for the world’s largest economy.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite were lower. Selling was broad in early trading as all 30 companies in the Dow fell.

Earlier, European stock markets slid after large losses in Tokyo, as investors fretted over the U.S. and political uncertainty in Italy.

London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.82 percent to 6,459.39 points in afternoon deals, the CAC 40 in Paris shed 1.41 percent to 4,127.31 points and Frankfurt’s DAX 30 declined 1.16 percent to 8,561.34 points.

In Italy, the FTSE Mib lost 1.68 percent to 17,350.46 points compared with Friday’s closing value.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock average closed 2.1 percent lower at 14,455.80. Hong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.5 percent to 22,859.86 while South Korea’s Kospi was 0.7 percent lower at 1,074. [Read More]

—–
Source: VOA News: War and Conflict