US Stock Market Plunges Amid Weak Consumer Confidence And Inflation Fears

On Tuesday, September 26, the U.S. stock markets closed significantly lower, with the Dow hitting its lowest since March amid weak consumer confidence and fears of persistent inflation and rising interest rates.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 103 in September.

All sectors of the S&P 500 ended in the red, with utilities and consumer discretionary stocks experiencing the largest declines.

Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) saw a 4% drop in its stock on Tuesday as it faced legal action from the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by 1.14% at 33,618.88. The S&P 500 saw a decline of 1.47%, settling at 4,273.53, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 1.57% to conclude at 13,063.61.

Asian Markets Today

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 concluded Wednesday’s session higher by 0.18% at 32,371.90, rebounding from a one-month low as investors bought stocks for dividend rights expiring post-session.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.11% and closed at 7,030.30; nine out of eleven sectors saw declines, with technology, healthcare, and energy stocks leading the losses. However, the real estate sector stood out with a gain of 4.4%.
• China’s Shanghai Composite closed the session higher by 0.16% at 3,107.32, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 climbed 0.21%, ending at 3,700.49.
• Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Stock Exchange rose 0.44% to close at 17,552.50.
• Chinese industrial profits surged in August, reducing yearly losses and raising hopes for an economic recovery ahead of upcoming PMI data.

Eurozone at 05:45 AM ET

• The European STOXX 600 index was up 0.04%.
• Germany’s DAX declined 0.07%.
• France’s CAC 40 rose 0.15%.
• The U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded lower by 0.17%.

Commodities at 05:45 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was trading higher by 1.02% at $91.28/bbl, and Brent increased 0.62% to $93/bbl.
• Natural Gas rose by 2.11% to $2.905.
• Gold was trading lower by 0.35% at $1,913.05, Silver slid 0.77% to $23.017, and Copper fell 0.21% to $3.6413.

US Futures at 05:45 AM ET

Dow futures gained 0.22%, S&P 500 futures were higher by 0.30%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.29%.

Forex at 05:45 AM ET

The U.S. Dollar Index was up 0.09% to 106.33. USD/JPY gained 0.09% to 149.19, and AUD/USD decreased by 0.33% to 1.5684.

Produced in association with Benzinga