WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks are seeing modest weakness during trading on Tuesday, giving back ground after moving mostly higher over the two previous sessions. Selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued, however, limiting the downside for the major averages.
Currently, the major averages are all in negative territory. The Dow is down 175.52 points or 0.4 percent at 46,140.55, the S&P 500 is down 14.50 points or 0.2 percent at 6,646.71 and the Nasdaq is down 49.18 points or 0.2 percent at 22,541.98.
The modest pullback on Wall Street comes as some traders look to cash in on the recent strength in the markets amid concerns about the possibility of a government shutdown at the end of the day.
Lawmakers must pass legislation funding the government by a deadline of 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday or face a shutdown.
Democrats have demanded that a temporary funding bill include an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits, while Republicans argue the issue should be debated after a funding bill is passed.
After a meeting between President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders on Monday, Vice President JD Vance said he thinks 'we're headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won't do the right thing.'
'Relations between the Democrats and Republicans are frostier than an Alaska morning, so markets are not confident on the prospects of agreeing a deal before midnight tonight,' said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
He added, 'One of the biggest short-term concerns for markets is the impact this would have on the release of government data - particularly the jobs number due on Friday - without which the Federal Reserve might not feel as confident about cutting interest rates.'
The weakness on Wall Street also comes after the Conference Board released a report showing a bigger than expected decrease by its reading on U.S. consumer confidence in the month of September.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slid to 94.2 in September from an upwardly revised 97.8 in August. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to dip to 96.0 from the 97.4 originally reported for the previous month.
With the bigger than expected decrease, the consumer confidence index dropped to its lowest level since April 2025.
Sector News
Energy stocks are extending the sell-off seen in the previous session amid a continued slump by the price of crude oil, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index and the NYSE Arca Oil Index tumbling by 2.7 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Substantial weakness has also emerged among banking stocks, as reflected by the 2.2 percent plunge by the KBW Bank Index.
Airline and brokerage stocks are also seeing considerable weakness on the day, while pharmaceutical stocks have shown a notable move to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, European stocks have moved mostly higher on the day. The German DAX Index is up by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index has bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength, extending the rebound seen on Monday. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.2 basis points at 4.129 percent.
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