Wall Street closed lower on Tuesday, pressured by a sharp deterioration in consumer sentiment, though enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks helped cushion the decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.25% to 51,350.99 points, the S&P 500 retreated 0.17% to 7,671.01 points, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.09% to 26,797.54 points.
The primary driver of the selloff was a set of macroeconomic data showing that US consumer confidence collapsed in September to its lowest level in 12 years, falling to 81.9 points amid rising fears over unemployment and broader economic deterioration.
Compounding the weak sentiment reading, the labour market also showed signs of cooling. A separate statistical report revealed that the number of available job openings in the United States fell by 256,000 positions in August, declining to a total of 7.079 million.
Offsetting a steeper decline was renewed enthusiasm around technology stocks, driven by the anticipated initial public offering of Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, which is reportedly targeting a record valuation of two trillion dollars.
The session was also marked by elevated government bond yields — the US 30-year Treasury yield reached its highest level since 2002 — while oil prices continued to slide on expectations that the United States and Iran may reach a diplomatic agreement.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/30/mercados/mercados-mercados/wall-street-encerra-sessao-em-terreno-negativo-pressionada-pelos-dados-do-consumo/
