Wall Street rallied on the final trading day of September as investors remained focused on prospects for another stimulus package to boost the US economy recover from the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin expressed some optimism that lawmakers can still reach a deal, but some of the initial enthusiasm faded after he and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi failed to strike the coronavirus aid package today. The sentiment was also driven by upbeat economic data, with the US economy contracting less than initially projected in Q2 and private businesses adding more jobs than expected in September. Still, US averages suffered their first monthly declines since March as investors started to question sharp stocks valuations in the wake of weak fundamentals following their massive rally from March lows. But indexes recorded third-quarter gains, with the S&P having its biggest two-quarter winning streak since 2009 and the Nasdaq posting its biggest gain for two quarters since 2000.

Canada's main stock index fell for a second straight session on Wednesday, with S&P/ASX 200 finishing below 16,200 and posting a more than 2 percent monthly decline. Despite some upbeat GDP data, investors have become concerned about the pace of economic recovery as virus cases continue to soar worldwide.

The US economy shrank by an annualized 31.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020, slightly lower than a 31.7 percent plunge in the second estimate and a 32.9 percent fall in the advance one. It reflects mainly an upward revision to personal consumption expenditures (PCE) that was partly offset by downward revisions to exports and to nonresidential fixed investment. Still, it remains the biggest contraction ever, pushing the economy into a recession as the coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses including restaurants, cafes, stores and factories to close and people to stay at home, hurting consumer and business spending.

WTI crude futures settled 2.4% higher at $40.22 a barrel on Wednesday but ended the month in negative as a surge in coronavirus infections in the US and Europe fed fears of a slow recovery for the economy and fuel consumption. Following persistent demand worries, OPEC+ is unlikely to increase oil production as initially planned. The US crude benchmark fell more than 6 per cent in September.

European stocks ended lower at the end of a volatile session on Wednesday, with Frankfurt's DAX 30 falling 0.4% and booking a 1% monthly loss, its first since a dramatic stock market crash back in March. Surging coronavirus cases across Europe and a chaotic US presidential debate offset optimism from data showing a jump in German retail sales in August, China's solid manufacturing data in September and strong private employment growth in the US. German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Tuesday new restriction measures to contain the spread of the pandemic, such as restricting the size of gatherings and fining people who flout tracking rules, while the UK reported 7,143 new coronavirus cases, the highest single figure to date. Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde signaled a change to the ECB’s strategy to align it with that of the US Federal Reserve, which would probably allow inflation rate to overshoot after missing the central bank's target for years.

The British economy shrank 19.8 percent on quarter in the three months to June of 2020, slightly less than a preliminary estimate of a 20.4 percent drop. Still, it remains the biggest contraction ever and the second consecutive quarterly decline in GDP, officially entering a recession, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government measures taken to reduce transmission of the virus. Gross fixed capital formation fell less than initially anticipated (-21.6 percent vs -25.5 percent) while both household consumption (-23.6 percent vs -23.1 percent) and government spending (-14.6 percent vs -14 percent) sank more. Private consumption accounted for more than three-quarters of the fall in GDP, reflecting the implementation of public health restrictions, the mandated closures of non-essential shops and forms of social distancing. Net external demand contributed positively as imports (-22.7 percent) fell more than exports (-11 percent).

The MNI Chicago Business Barometer in the US jumped to 62.4 in September of 2020 from 51.2 in August and easily beating market forecasts of 52. The reading pointed to the strongest expansion in Chicago business activity since February of 2019 as all five main indicators saw monthly gains, with production and new orders leading the way. Through Q3, business sentiment recovered sharply to 55.2, the strongest reading since Q1 2019.

The Canadian economy grew 3 percent over a month earlier in July 2020, following a 6.5 percent expansion in the previous month and matching market expectations. It was the third consecutive monthly gain, but still the activity remained around 6 percent below February’s pre-pandemic level. Both goods-producing (3.2 percent) and services-producing industries (3 percent) were up as all 20 industrial sectors posted gains. Among sectors, the pre-pandemic levels were surpassed in agriculture (1 percent); utilities (3.5 percent); finance & insurance (1 percent); and real estate rental and leasing (1.9 percent). The national statistical office also estimated a 1 percent growth in real GDP in August, as output continues to recover in several sectors amid the easing of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions.

The unemployment rate in Brazil jumped to 13.8 percent in the three months to July 2020 from 12.6 percent in the February to April period and above market expectations of 13.7 percent. It was the highest jobless rate on record, as the coronavirus pandemic hit the labour market. The number of unemployed rose by 2.5 percent to 13.13 million and employment dropped by 8.1 percent to a record low of 82.03 million. The labor force participation rate declined by 4.3 percentage points to a fresh all-time low of 54.7 percent and the employment rate decreased by 4.5 percentage points to a new record low of 47.1 percent.