The New York Stock Exchange, wary investors presumably inside. (Creative Commons)

As President Barack Obama prepared to meet with legislative leaders to try again to strike a deal, investors prepared for the worst come Jan. 1, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 65 points on top of 215 points lost in the last four trading sessions, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slipped down seven and nine points, respectively.

According to WSJ, stocks bumped up a bit in the morning when news broke Obama might offer a "scaled-back" budget proposal to appease Republicans. 

From WSJ:

"People that are pretty well connected thought that if something was going to be done, it would've been done last Friday. Given that last week came and went, it certainly makes it a lot harder for something to be done by year-end," says James Kee, president of South Texas Money Management, which manages $1.8 billion in assets in San Antonio.

European markets reflected cautious investors on their end as well, trading lower across the board, while Asian markets remained optimistic. 

Obama and key lawmakers meet this afternoon to hammer out a short-term plan to avoid the impending tax hikes and budget cuts the nation faces next week. 

READ ALSO: New Round Of Fiscal Cliff Talks Friday 

Whatever comes from that meeting with House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the full House is not scheduled to reconvene until Sunday evening to revisit a deal.

Read the full story here, and more of Neon Tommy's fiscal cliff coverage here. 

Reach Executive Producer Catherine Green here. Follow her here.