Stocks hit by Washington worries, up for quarter

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – U.S. stocks declined on Monday, with benchmark indexes still rising for a third consecutive quarter, as Wall Street considered a standoff on Capitol Hill and the likely duration of a possible government shutdown. “This is not a doomsday situation; at some point someone will blink and there will be an agreement,” said Dan Heckman, senior fixed-income strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. Lawmakers have until midnight to pass an emergency measure to keep the federal government running starting Tuesday, the start of the 2014 fiscal year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) dropped 128.57 points to 15,129.67. The S&P 500 index (SNC:SPX) lost 10.20 points to 1,681.55. The Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ:COMP) declined 10.12 points to 3,771.48.