Hopes Fade For Debt Reduction Bill, Markets Close Lower

The markets retreated in late afternoon trading to close lower with the Dow falling 62 points to 12,240 as investors doubted that Congress would pass a debt reduction bill. Nasdaq added a point to 2766.

On the upside

Crocs (Nasdaq: CROX) reported sharply higher second quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations by a wide margin as revenue climbed and the maker of colorful plastic shoes forecast current quarter results ahead of estimates.

Molycorp (NYSE: MCP) modified a supply contract in order to receive higher payment for lanthanum from a major client.

Second quarter earnings rose for Cameron International (NYSE: CAM) to top analyst estimates and the oil and gas industries services provider lifted its outlook for the full year.

On the downside

Sprint's (NYSE: S) new partnership with LightSquared to build a nationwide 4G wireless network using LTE technology sent shares of Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR), which is Sprint's current nationwide 4G wireless provider, plunging.

CB Richard Ellis Group (NYSE: CBG) reported higher second quarter earnings but the results fell short of analyst expectations.

Waste Management (NYSE: WM) blamed higher expenses for lower second quarter earnings.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of 5 to 3 on the NYSE while decliners barely edged out advancers by a slim margin on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks eased a point to 799.