Equities Mixed Intraday Amid Drop in Consumer Sentiment

02:07 PM EDT, 09/12/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were mixed after midday Friday as a survey showed a decline in consumer sentiment, while markets awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decision due next week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4% at 45,917.9 intraday, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 22,138.7. The S&P 500 was little changed at 6,589.3. On Thursday, all three indexes closed at new all-time high levels.

Among sectors, materials saw the biggest drop intraday Friday, while consumer discretionary and technology paced the gainers.

In economic news, US consumer sentiment deteriorated in September to the lowest level since May, preliminary results from a University of Michigan survey showed. Year-ahead inflation expectations held steady at 4.8% this month, while the long-run outlook climbed to a three-month high of 3.9% from 3.5% in August.

"Consumers continue to note multiple vulnerabilities in the economy, with rising risks to business conditions, labor markets, and inflation," Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said.

Markets widely expect the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee to lower its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

"There has been limited jobs growth seen over the past four months, and recent data revisions suggest more than half of the jobs that had reportedly been added in the 12 months to March were found not to actually exist," ING Bank said in a Friday report.

"A cooling economy and weakening jobs market will help to dampen inflation tied to tariffs, and the Fed is now in a position to resume loosening policy from 'somewhat restrictive' territory towards a neutral footing," the firm wrote.

Retail price increases tied to US President Donald Trump's tariffs are appearing to take hold, with such gains at consumer growth and e-commerce names likely to continue over the coming months, Oppenheimer said.

The US Supreme Court agreed to hear the Trump administration's arguments challenging a lower court ruling on tariffs, according to an order released earlier this week. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that most of tariffs were illegal.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday Friday, with the 10-year rate increasing 5.7 basis points to 4.07% and the two-year rate adding 3.1 basis points to 3.56%.

In company news, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shares were up 18%, the top gainer on the S&P 500, following a roughly 29% jump in the previous session. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is readying a majority cash bid for the media and entertainment giant, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed sources. Paramount shares were up 4.2% intraday Friday, among the best S&P 500 performers.

Among the mega-cap tech stocks, Tesla (TSLA) was the second-best performer on the S&P 500, up 6.8%, while Microsoft (MSFT) and Apple (AAPL) led the Dow with gains of 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively.

RH (RH) shares were down 4.7%. Late Thursday, the home furnishing retailer lowered its full-year revenue growth outlook amid persistent tariff-related uncertainties after its fiscal second-quarter results came in below market expectations.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.3% at $62.56 a barrel intraday Friday.

Gold was up 0.4% at $3,687.80 per troy ounce, while silver increased 1.7% to $42.85 per ounce.

MT Newswires does not provide investment advice. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.