Interest rates on short-term U.S. government debt declined as investors were relieved that Washington averted a potential default.
IBM, UnitedHealth and Goldman Sachs dragged the Dow Jones industrial average lower after reporting results that disappointed investors.
The Dow was down 100 points, or 0.7 percent, to 15,272 points early Thursday.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 fell but not as much as the Dow. The S&P 500 lost three points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,717 points.
The Nasdaq fell seven points, also 0.2 percent, to 3,832.
The yield on the three-month Treasury bill fell back to 0.1 percent, about where it was in late September, down sharply from 0.13 percent late Wednesday.
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