US stocks closed firmly lower on Tuesday after Iran fired over 100 ballistic missiles at Israel, pushing oil prices for West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) to their biggest increases in nearly a year.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the declines, shedding around 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved about 0.4% lower, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) recovered from steeper losses to finish the day down roughly 0.9% after both major indexes capped last month — and quarter — with fresh record highs.
Meanwhile, new jobs and manufacturing data kicked off the new quarter as investors searched for further clues on the future of the Federal Reserve’s easing cycle after Fed Chair Jerome Powell hinted the central bank is not in a rush to rapidly cut rates.
Job openings surprisingly increased in August, furthering the narrative that while the labor market is cooling, it’s not rapidly slowing. New data showed there were 8.04 million jobs open at the end of August, an increase from the 7.71 million seen in July.
US manufacturing held steady in September. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said its manufacturing PMI was unchanged at 47.2 last month. Despite holding steady, the reading still came in weak, as a PMI below 50 indicates a contraction in the manufacturing sector.
The data sets investors up for Friday’s September jobs report, the highlight in a week full of closely watched economic data. Investors are watching for confirmation that the US economy is cooling, rather than crumbling.
In other news, a strike by dockworkers began on the East and Gulf coasts, threatening to halt the flow of half the US’s ocean shipping. Disruption from the large-scale stoppage could cost the economy billions of dollars a day, stoke inflation, put jobs at risk, and reverberate through US politics.
