Obama vows to slash deficit in budget plan; US mkts down while Asian markets trading firm; Nikkei, Hang Seng up

US markets ended lower as President Obama outlined his budget plan and proposed a radical shift to reform healthcare, change tax norms in a bid to cut down on spending and reducing the deficit. The Obama administration sees the FY09 deficit at USD USD 1.75 trillion.

Healthcare stocks tanked amid worries that President Obama's budget will clamp industry profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 88.81 points, or 1.2%, to 7,182.08. The S&P 500 index fell 12.07 points, or 1.6%, to 752.83 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 33.96 points, or 2.4%, to 1,391.47.