Daily Data Flow: U.S. Stocks Fall; Wall Street Bullish on ’13; China’s Currency

U.S. Stocks Fall as Budget Negotiations Overshadow Greece (Bloomberg)
U.S. stocks fell for a second day as concern about progress in Washington budget negotiations overshadowed a European agreement on Greece aid and a better- than-forecast report on durable goods. “It had looked like Washington lawmakers had kissed and made up after the presidential election and while that might still be so, some are reading Mr. Reid’s comments as more work needing to be done,” Larry Peruzzi, senior equity trader at Cabrera Capital Markets LLC in Boston, wrote in an e-mail. “It’s getting close to the witching hour now so not the best thing to hear.”

Why Has Wall Street Gotten So Bullish About Next Year? (CNBC)
Even the bears are bullish for 2013, a year in which virtually every Wall Street expert believes the market will overcome its many headwinds and post a positive year. Obstacles such as the “fiscal cliff” of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that will take effect if Washington fails to reach deficit-reduction targets worry Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at Standard & Poors/Capital IQ, but he believes that issue, as well as the debt crisis and recession in Europe, won’t stop stocks.

U.S. Withholds China Currency Manipulator Label (Reuters)
The U.S. Treasury on Tuesday said China’s currency remained undervalued but stopped short of labeling the world’s second-biggest economy a currency manipulator. A Treasury official said China had allowed the yuan to appreciate 9.7 percent in nominal terms since June 2010, in the department’s semi-annual currency report. The yuan closed at a record high on Tuesday. The Treasury department said China did not currently meet the legal requirements to be a currency manipulator.