US Equity Indexes Lower on Powell Hinting Stocks are Overvalued; Underwhelming Economic Data

04:19 PM EDT, 09/23/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were lower after the close on Tuesday after US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during a speech today that equity prices are "fairly highly valued." He highlighted that the Fed would move more cautiously on rate cuts as the central bank looks to balance near-term risks to inflation with a weakening labor market.

"Two-sided risks mean that there is no risk-free path. If we ease too aggressively, we could leave the inflation job unfinished and need to reverse course later to fully restore 2% inflation. If we maintain restrictive policy too long, the labor market could soften unnecessarily," Powell said today in his speech at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce 2025 Economic Outlook Luncheon.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.95% to 22,573.4, with the S&P 500 down 0.55% to 6,656.9, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.19% lower at 46,292.7. The energy sector led the gainers, while the consumer discretionary sector led the decliners.

The CBOE Volatility Index rose 3.8% to 16.73.

Most Treasury yields fell, with the 10-year yield down 3.3 basis points to 4.11% and the two-year rate 1.1 basis points lower at 3.59%.

Gold futures rose 0.62% to $3,798.4.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose by 2.26% to $63.69 a barrel.

In economic news, the preliminary September flash reading from S&P Global revealed that US manufacturing and services business activity slowed down compared with the month prior. The manufacturing PMI index stood at 52, lower than 53 in August, and under the 52.2 expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey. The US services PMI business activity index in September was 53.9, down from 54.5 in the month prior, and lower than the 54 expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

The US current account deficit in Q2 narrowed to $251.31 billion from $439.82 billion in Q1, compared with expectations for a $259 billion deficit from a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

In company news, Boeing (BA) shares rose 2% after US President Donald Trump said late Monday on Truth Social that Boeing (BA) has signed an $8 billion deal to provide Uzbekistan Airways with a total of 22 787 Dreamliners. "This will create over 35,000 jobs in the United States. President Mirziyoyev is a man of his word, and we will continue to work together on many more items!" Trump wrote.

Vistra (VST) shares fell 6.2% after Jefferies downgraded the stock to hold from buy. The brokerage also cut its price target on the stock to $230 per share from $241.

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