Major US stock indexes finished trading in the red

Major US stock indices fell markedly as investors analyzed the latest news regarding US-China trade relations and disappointing US consumer confidence data. The focus was also on the news that an increasing number of Democratic lawmakers called for initiating an impeachment process against President Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Trump confirmed that he had ordered $ 400 million in military assistance for Ukraine to be frozen, but denied that he had done so as a leverage to force the president of Ukraine to launch an investigation that could harm Democratic rival Joe Biden.

In Washington, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi met with other democratic lawmakers to consider the impeachment of the Republican President, who has endured repeated scandals since taking office in 2017.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that China has granted several companies new permits to purchase at least 2 million tons of soybeans in the United States without applying tariffs. According to the agency, the company has already bought about 1.2 million tons of soybeans.

US Treasury Secretary Stephen Mnuchin has confirmed that trade negotiations between the two largest economies in the world will resume next month. In an interview with Fox Business Network, Mnuchin said U.S. and Chinese negotiators made some progress at deputy meetings last week. He also spoke positively about the resumption of Chinese purchases of American agricultural products by the PRC, but noted that "the most important issue is intellectual property."

Regarding the data, the Conference Board reported that the consumer confidence index fell sharply in September after it recorded a slight decline in August. According to the report, the index now stands at 125.1 (1985 = 100), compared with 134.2 in August (revised from 135.1). Analysts had expected the index to drop to 133.5. The report also showed that the current situation index, based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, fell from 176.0 to 169.0, and the expectations index, based on short-term consumer forecasts regarding income, business and labor market conditions, fell from 106.4 to 95.8. Netflix (NFLX) also added pressure to the market, falling 4.62%, as several Wall Street analysts expressed concern about the company's future results.

Most DOW components recorded a decline (23 out of 30). Outsiders were the shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS; -2.84%). The biggest gainers were The Boeing Company (BA; + 1.28%).

Almost all S&P sectors completed trading in the red. The conglomerate sector showed the largest decrease (-2.1%). Only the utilities sector recorded growth (+ 0.7%).

At the time of closing:

Dow 26,807.77 -142.22 -0.53%

S&P 500 2,966.60 -25.18 -0.84%

Nasdaq 100 7,993.63 -118.83 -1.46%