Closing Bell

Stocks closed mixed Tuesday after enthusiasm over a deal to extend tax cuts faded.
Bond prices fell sharply as traders anticipated the tax cuts would boost economic growth but also lead to ballooning budget deficits. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 3.13 percent, its highest level since June 22. President Barack Obama and Republican leaders agreed to a broad package of tax cuts and an extension of unemployment benefits. The compromise plan helped send stocks higher in the morning, briefly pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index to its highest level since the peak of the financial crisis in September 2008. Private economists began raising their expectations for economic growth in response to the tax cut deal. Bond traders focused on another factor: the widening budget deficit. Estimates vary widely, but some put the total cost of the package in the range of $900 billion over the next two years.

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