On Tuesday, U.S. stock indices closed lower Wall Street as investors, deprived of access to official macroeconomic data due to the ongoing government shutdown, turned to alternative indicators and statements from Federal Reserve officials to assess the economic and monetary policy outlook.
All three major indices Wall Street fell after the release of a report from the New York Federal Reserve, which showed consumer expectations had worsened and inflation forecasts had risen. The report was particularly intriguing given the lack of new federal data Wall Street – the budget standoff in Congress has extended the government shutdown into its seventh day.
Analysts note that amid uncertainty, market participants are forced to rely on independent surveys and comments from Federal Reserve officials to predict the likelihood of a second interest rate cut this year on Wall Street.
“The market used the New York Fed report as an excuse to take profits, with the S&P 500 rising for seven straight days,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. “The longer the shutdown lasts, the greater the uncertainty.”
The decline was primarily seen in sectors sensitive to the economic cycle—construction, transportation, and airlines.
According to Paul Nolte of Murphy & Sylvest, “The market is still driven by AI optimism, but this driver is gradually losing strength.”
Index and Company Performance
- The Dow Jones fell 0.20% (-91.99 points) to 46,602.98.
- The S&P 500 lost 0.38% (-25.69 points) to 6,714.59.
- The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.67% (-153.3 points) to 22,788.36.
Among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, consumer durables suffered the biggest declines, while utilities and essentials posted slight gains.
Tesla lost 4.5% after unveiling lower-priced versions of the Model Y.
AMD rose 3.8% thanks to a stock upgrade and a chip supply partnership with OpenAI.
IBM gained 1.5% on news of a partnership with startup Anthropic, and Constellation Brands rose 1% after reporting soft quarterly results.
Trilogy Metals shares jumped more than 200% after a White House-linked company announced it had acquired a 10% stake.
AppLovin was also among the top performers, gaining 7.6% after Citi and Oppenheimer analysts regained confidence.
Bitcoin-related companies, including Coinbase, MicroStrategy, Riot Platforms, and MARA Holdings, lost ground as the cryptocurrency retreated from its all-time highs.
Market Statistics
On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners outnumbered advancers by a ratio of 1.93 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, the ratio was 2.05 to 1.
The S&P 500 posted 36 new highs and 8 new lows over the past 52 weeks, while the Nasdaq posted 121 new highs and 70 new lows.
Trading volume on U.S. exchanges totaled 20.8 billion shares, exceeding the 20-day average of 19.4 billion.
