The U.S. stock markets fell sharply on Tuesday, September 26, with the Dow reaching its lowest level since March due to low consumer confidence, ongoing inflation concerns, and worries about rising interest rates.
In September, the Conference Board’s index measuring consumer confidence dropped to 103.
The S&P 500 saw losses across the board, with utilities and consumer discretionary stocks seeing the biggest drops.
On Tuesday, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)’s shares fell 4% as it was being sued by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states.
At 33,618.88, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 1.14% down. The Nasdaq Composite down 1.57% to end at 13,063.61, while the S&P 500 fell 1.47% to end at 4,273.53.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan finished Wednesday’s trading session up 0.18% at 32,371.90, recovering from a one-month low as investors purchased equities in anticipation of dividend rights that would expire later in the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia decreased 0.11% to close at 7,030.30; nine out of the eleven sectors experienced decreases, with energy, healthcare, and technology companies posting the most losses. With a rise of 4.4%, the real estate sector stood out.
Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.21%, ending the session at 3,700.49, while China’s Shanghai Composite completed the session up 0.16% at 3,107.32.
The Hang Seng Stock Exchange in Hong Kong increased by 0.44% to close at 17,552.50.
Ahead of the impending PMI statistics, China’s industrial earnings soared in August, cutting annual losses and boosting expectations for an economic revival.
The STOXX 600 index for Europe increased by 0.04%.
The DAX in Germany fell by 0.07%.
CAC 40 France increased by 0.15%.
The FTSE 100 in the United Kingdom fell by 0.17%.
WTI crude oil prices were up 1.02% at $91.28 per barrel, and Brent prices were up 0.62% at $93/bbl.
To $2.905, natural gas increased by 2.11%.
At $1,913.05 per ounce, Gold was down 0.35%, Silver was down 0.77%, and Copper was down 0.21%.