By Andrea Hargraves 
Bears control Wall Street. Standard & Poor’s is at a three-month low
Major indexes on the other side of the Atlantic were hurt by lower-than-expected economic data, as well as the risk of a US government shutdown due to a stalemate in federal budget negotiations.
Major indices on Wall Street ended the session with losses, with investors evaluating US home sales data, as well as consumer confidence, which raise concerns about the state of the North American economy.
The CBOE Volatility Index, known as the “fear” index on Wall Street, rose to its highest levels in May.
New home sales were below expectations, totaling 675,000 in August, compared to expectations of 695,000. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 103 in September, compared to market expectations of 1,005.5.
The Dow Jones index fell 1.14% to 33,618.88 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 1.47% to 4,273.52 points. The Nasdaq technology index fell 1.57% to 13,063.61 points. The three indices fell to their lowest levels at the beginning of June.
Also adding to investors’ concerns are the ongoing negotiations in Washington, where political leaders are discussing a federal budget in Congress that, if there is no agreement, could leave the North American government without funds to meet its operating obligations. If this happens, it will be only the fourth time in a decade.
According to the rating agency Moody’s, a “shutdown” (cessation of federal public services) by the US government will have a negative impact on US ratings.
The dollar continues to appear as a safe haven asset and records gains for the fifth session in a row.
Among the major market moves, pharmaceutical company Immunovant nearly doubled its stock market value, rising more than 97%, after the company announced that its new antibody treatment was successful in initial tests.
Amazon lost 4% yet The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the competition regulator in the USA, accused the company of abusive practices in the “market”.
“The market is now in the hands of the bears,” Quincy Crosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, told Bloomberg.
“It’s a wall of fear and uncertainty chasing the market. I wouldn’t say the sell-off was very dramatic, in fact, it was fairly orderly. But there is still a lot of uncertainty.” he added.