US stocks closed lower as investors awaited fresh economic data following the federal government shutdown.
The lack of official reports prompted investors to rely on secondary indicators and statements from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials to gauge economic conditions and the direction of monetary policy.
All three major indexes fell after the New York Fed's consumer expectations survey showed a decline in confidence in the economic outlook and a rise in inflation expectations, adding to concerns about continued price pressures.
The report also drew more attention due to a lack of federal data due to the political deadlock in Congress, which has led to a seventh day of government shutdown.
Economically sensitive sectors such as homebuilding, housing, airlines and transportation underperformed the broader market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.20% to 46,602.98, the S&P 500 fell 0.38% to 6,714.59, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite fell 0.67% to 22,788.36.
Investors continue to rely on independent secondary data and statements from monetary policymakers to assess the possibility of the Fed cutting interest rates for the second time this year at its meeting in late October.
Meanwhile, Tesla shares fell 4.5% after the electric vehicle (EV) company launched a low-end version of the Model Y.
In contrast, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares rose 3.8% after Jefferies upgraded it to 'buy', while several other brokerages raised their price targets following a supply deal with OpenAI.
Trading volume on US exchanges was worth $20.8 billion, compared to an average of $19.44 billion over the past 20 trading days.
