Authors: Carmen Cox
Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Wall Street traders are still keeping a close eye on Washington as the deadline for the so-called "fiscal cliff" approaches.
Closing at 13,021.82, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 36.71 points Thursday. The Nasdaq gained 20.25 points to close at 3,0012.03. The S&P added 6.02 points and closed the session at 1,415.95.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, says no real progress was made in a meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Thursday as both sides try to hammer out a deal to avoid the automatic tax increases and deep government spending cuts that would take place at the end of the year. As Speaker Boehner spoke at a news conference Thursday, the Dow declined more than 50 points in five minutes, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Still, the Journal reports, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., both expressed optimism about the progress taking place in the fiscal meetings.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio
