(Updates with index/price action, macroeconomic data, corporate developments, and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes fell ahead of the close on Tuesday as Treasury yields continued their uptrend and Fed Governor Michael Barr maintained his stance on further interest rate increases amid mixed macroeconomic data and deteriorating US-Iran settlement prospects.
Referring to elevated energy prices, the AI buildout, and geopolitical uncertainty, Barr said that "the combined effect has meant we have been knocked off course on our progress toward our 2% goal."
Elsewhere, President Donald Trump rejected an Axios report that he had offered Iran sanctions relief in return for concrete steps regarding the country's nuclear program.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard spokesperson Gen. Hossein Mohebbi told the Associated Press that military action or economic sanctions would not get Tehran to submit, while Iranian Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Amir Akrami-Nia said the new "Iranian order" in the Strait of Hormuz was irreversible, according to CBS News.
The Nasdaq Composite fell marginally to 26,816.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2% to 51,361.5, while the S&P 500 declined by 0.1% to 7,674.2. Energy and materials sectors led the decliners.
The 10-year US Treasury yield climbed 1.3 basis points to 5.255%, and the 30-year rate rose 3 basis points to 5.592%.
The US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract fell 3.5% to $89.3 per barrel.
In economic news, The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence fell to 81.9 in September from 88.6 in the month prior, compared with an expected rise to 89.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The present situation component declined to 109.3 from 117.2, while the expectations reading fell to 63.6 from 69.5.
The board's chief economist, Dana Peterson, said that there were concerns about geopolitical tensions, as well as trade and employment.
US job openings in August declined to 7.079 million from 7.335 million openings in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared with 7.228 million openings expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The hiring rate in August rose to 3.3% from 3.2% a month earlier.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday that US single-family home prices in July rose 0.3% nationwide, after a flat reading a month earlier, and above the 0.1% gain expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
The Dallas Federal Reserve's monthly general business services index declined to minus 1.8 in September from 4.2 in the month prior, compared with expectations for 2.3 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
In company news, Fair Isaac (FICO) shares were down nearly 27% after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said late Monday in an X post that VantageScore will join the existing FICO classic mortgage pricing grid.
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