Debt Limit, Pending Home Sales, Inventories: 3 Things to Watch By Investing.com – Investing.com

Debt Limit, Pending Home Sales, Inventories: 3 Things to Watch By Investing.com – Investing.com

© Reuters.

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com -- Stocks, particularly in the tech sector, slumped on Tuesday on weak consumer confidence data and rising yields on U.S. Treasury debt.

The confidence reading for this month unexpectedly fell to its lowest level since February as consumers felt jolted by another surge in the Covid-19 pandemic that struck fear over the economy’s recovery. Stocks were in the red heading into the last half-hour of trading.

At the same time, lawmakers in Washington are haggling over the country’s own debt future, at loggerheads over whether to extend funding beyond Thursday and raise or suspend the debt limit. The prospect of a U.S. default, plus higher taxes to pay for trillions of dollars in proposed federal spending, is also weighing on sentiment.

The reading, coupled with a rising trade deficit and an expected decline in vehicle sales, brewed fresh concerns about the state of consumption in the country, which is a key driver of economic growth.

The Treasury yield jumped to about 1.56%, hammering tech and growth stocks, while investors fled for value stocks. The Federal Reserve is preparing to ease off of its stimulus efforts, first cutting back on its monthly bond