The Nasdaq gained 0.5% to close at a record 27244 on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 finished flat and the Dow shed 185 points. Another strong session for the AI trade lifted AI infrastructure companies, with the latest catalyst being the strong reception for Meta’s Muse AI agent. Meanwhile, Anthropic is releasing a new AI model designed to handle a wide range of business tasks at a lower cost, ahead of its highly anticipated Wall Street debut. Heavyweight chipmakers lifted the Nasdaq, with Nvidia up 0.7%, Micron rising 5%, and Sandisk jumping 6.8% following an upgrade from Rosenblatt. The S&P 500 pared earlier losses after President Trump said US officials had a “very good” meeting with Iranian representatives. Manufacturer stocks gained, with Applied Materials up 1.8%. Meanwhile, a selloff in bank shares weighed on the Dow, with JPMorgan falling 3.4% and Bank of America dropping 3%.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury wavered before settling slightly higher at 4.97% on Tuesday, as traders continued to assess developments in the Middle East, oil prices and comments from Fed officials. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, US President Trump defended his decision to join Israel in launching military action against Iran but added that he believes the US would reach a deal with Iran right after the midterm elections in November. He also added that more oil is flowing than at any point since the war began and that prices will plummet once the conflict is over. Oil prices remained mostly lower on Tuesday, though they recovered from their session lows. Meanwhile, on the monetary policy front, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee said the central bank cannot overlook persistent supply shocks, while St. Louis Fed President Musalem said further rate increases may be needed to bring inflation back toward target. Markets currently expect at least one more rate hike this year.

The Federal Reserve’s Fifth District manufacturing index fell to -2 in September 2026, marking its first negative reading in six months, down from 4 in August and contrasting with market expectations of an expansion in activity at 5. Both shipments and the volume of new orders fell into negative territory, to -5 and -6, respectively, while the order backlog deteriorated further, falling to -10 from -7. Meanwhile, the employment index rose to 7 from -2 in the previous month. Over the next six months, expectations for shipments (33 vs 26) and the volume of new orders (32) remained firmly in expansionary territory, although sentiment weakened for capital expenditures (-1 vs 4) and raw material inventories (-1 vs 3). Prices paid and received are expected to decline over the next 12 months, while employment expectations dropped notably to 8 from 20. Meanwhile, the future local business conditions index continued to decline, falling to 10 from 16.

Consumer confidence in the Euro Area fell to -16.5 in September 2026 from -15.5 in August and worse than market forecasts of -16, according to flash estimates. This puts an end to a four-month streak of improvement, which had lifted the index to a six-month high, likely influenced by heightened geopolitical uncertainty and inflation concerns. Sentiment also weakened across the broader European Union, with the index falling to -15.8 from -15 in the previous month.

The Central Bank of Nigeria slashed its key interest rate by 350 bps to 23% during its September 2026 meeting, its biggest reduction since 2007, after leaving rates unchanged in May and July. Policymakers said the move was intended to restore the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission, as market rates had increasingly diverged from the benchmark lending rate. The Committee assessed that the current macroeconomic environment remains supportive of such an adjustment without undermining the disinflation process. The annual inflation rate eased marginally to 15.39% in August 2026 from 15.43% in July, marking the lowest since March and the third straight month of slowdown. Governor Olayemi Cardoso said inflation was expected to moderate further in the short to medium term, with previous tightening, exchange-rate stability and improved inflation expectations helping to sustain the trend.

The UK’s total order book balance improved to -9 in September 2026 from -25 in August, marking the strongest reading since July 2023 and beating market expectations of -34. Export orders also improved, while remaining below “normal” at -9, but well above the historical average of -19. Output fell only marginally, with the balance improving sharply to -4 from -17. Manufacturers expect output to decline slightly again through December, at -6. Selling-price expectations also eased considerably to +12 from +22 in August, moving closer to the long-run average of +8 and suggesting some cooling in cost pressures. However, finished-goods inventories were only just adequate, with the balance falling to +2. The CBI said the data point to tentative stabilisation in manufacturing, but warned that high energy, employment and supply-chain costs continue to constrain firms. It said the upcoming Budget could help support investment and growth by reducing business costs and improving confidence.