US stocks : Dow off 0.1 pct

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Agencies: New York, Nov 21 2012, 04:45 IST

Wall Street halted its two-day rally on Tuesday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank lacks tools to cushion the U.S. economy from the impact of the "fiscal cliff."The day's biggest disappointment was Hewlett-Packard Co shares, which sank to a 10-year low after the computer and printer maker swung to a fourth-quarter loss and announced a $5 billion charge related to "accounting improprieties." The stock slid 12 percent to close at $11.71.Bernanke, in comments before the Economic Club of New York, said the Fed does not have the ability to offset the damage that would result if politicians fail to strike a deal to prevent a series of mandatory tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to go into effect early next year.The statement caused a downdraft in the market, though the equity market cut most of its losses before the end of the day."This is a more realistic and pragmatic picture of where we are, compared to what we've been hearing for the past couple of days from politicians that are mostly PR stunts," said James Dailey, portfolio manager at TEAM Asset Strategy Fund in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Stocks had rallied for the last two sessions after Washington politicians sounded an encouraging note that a deal to avoid the U.S. fiscal cliff could be reached. The gains followed two weeks of sharp losses that pushed the S&P 500 down through the 200-day moving average, a key benchmark of the market's long-term trend.The S&P ended Tuesday near that level, which

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