Stocks end lower as government nears shutdown

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New York • Stocks are closing lower as Wall Street braces for a government shutdown.

Investors pulled back from stocks Monday as a budget fight in Congress threatened to push the federal government into a partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years. Lawmakers have until midnight Tuesday to reach a budget deal that would keep government in full operation

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 128 points to close at 15,129. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 10 points to 1,681. The Nasdaq fell 10 points to 3,771.

There was little evidence that the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives were any closer to a budget agreement Monday afternoon, hours before the deadline.

The dispute is poised to continue into mid-October as legislators debate raising the nation's borrowing limit.