World stock markets took a dip Monday after US political leaders failed to reach a deal to raise Washington's debt limit and avoid a default. A default would mean the US government could not pay all its bills starting next month, including interest and principal on Treasury bonds. In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 88.36 points, or 0.70 percent, to 12,592.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 7.56 points, or 0.56 percent, to 1,337.46. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 16.03 points, or 0.56 percent, to 2,842.80. In Europe, France's CAC-40 was down 0.3 percent at 3,380.76 and Germany's DAX was off 0.1 percent at 7,321.78. London's FTSE was little changed at 5,934.15. The Gulf's stock indices also headed south, with the Saudi stock benchmark Tadawul All Share Index losing 0.82 percent to close at 6,472.03 points. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed down 0.8 percent at 10,050.01. China's Shanghai Composite Index slid 3 percent to 2,688.75 after a weekend bullet train collision killed 38 people. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.7 percent to 22,293.29. South Korea's Kospi shed 1 percent to 2,150.48 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.6 percent to 4,530.40. Markets in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also fell while India and Thailand gained. Brent September crude fell 73 cents to settle at $117.94 a barrel, having traded from $116.92 to $118.45. US September crude fell 67 cents to settle at $99.20 a barrel.
