Friday’s session closed in red territory. Stocks such as Bank of America, Walt Disney, Caterpillar and Alcoa led the way down. Brands took a breather as budget talks came to a standstill in Washington. Stocks slipped amid a variety of economic data. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal income growth hit 0.6% in November following an uptick of 0.1% in October. Meanwhile, personal spending rose 0.4% after falling 0.1% in October. Economists had anticipated personal income growth of 0.3% and personal spending to increase by 0.3%. In other news, consumer confidence was down this month. The final reading of the University of Michigan consumer-sentiment index slipped to a five-month low of 72.9 in December. Down from 74.5 in November, the index was expected to increase to 74.7. Elsewhere, the Census Bureau reported that durable goods orders edged up 0.7% in November after rising 1.1% in October. Discounting transportation, however, orders jumped up by 1.6%, after climbing 1.9% in October. Expectations were for a durable goods order upswing of 0.2% and a decline of 0.2% in the core results.
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