Equities Fall Intraday as Markets Weigh Macro Data

02:20 PM EDT, 09/25/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as Wall Street parsed the latest economic data, including a report showing a drop in August existing-home sales.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.8% at 22,314 after midday Thursday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.7% to 6,590.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% lower at 45,920.2. Barring energy, all sectors were in the red, led by health care.

In economic news, existing-home sales in the US dropped 0.2% sequentially last month, the National Association of Realtors said. The consensus was for a 1.5% drop in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.

"Home sales have been sluggish over the past few years due to elevated mortgage rates and limited inventory," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. "However, mortgage rates are declining and more inventory is coming to the market, which should boost sales in the coming months."

The US economy grew at an annual rate of 3.8% in the second quarter, faster than a 3.3% pace projected previously, according to a third estimate by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The consensus was for a 3.3% print in a Bloomberg poll.

"An even stronger growth profile in (the second quarter) led by additional strength in consumption and investment reiterates the storyline of a solid economy despite fiscal policy uncertainty, relatively elevated price pressures and a reduced pace of hiring," Stifel said.

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US reached their lowest level in two months, government data showed.

"The latest jobless claims data offer some assurance that labor market conditions are not deteriorating," Oxford Economics said. "Claims data support our forecast for the Federal Reserve to remain hold at its October meeting and to delay the next rate cut until December."

US Treasury yields were higher intraday, with the two-year rate rising 6.5 basis points to 3.66% and the 10-year rate adding 3.6 basis points to 4.18%.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said inflation in the US continues to be "too high while the labor market, though cooling, still remains largely in balance." Schmid said he sees the current monetary policy stance as "only slightly restrictive, which I think is the right place to be."

Earlier this week, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers face a "challenging situation," with near-term risks to inflation tilted to the upside and those to employment leaning downside. Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said recent data indicate that policymakers are at a "serious risk of already being behind the curve" in addressing a weakening labor market.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 0.3% at $64.82 a barrel intraday Thursday.

In company news, CarMax (KMX) shares sank nearly 21%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the used-vehicle retailer logged an unexpected drop in profit and sales for its fiscal second quarter.

Oracle (ORCL) launched an investment-grade bond sale worth $18 billion Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. The cloud computing company's shares were down 5.2% intraday Thursday, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500.

Intel (INTC) is seeking an investment from Apple (AAPL) to bolster its business as part of a turnaround bid, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Intel (INTC) shares were up 7.4% intraday Thursday, the top gainer on the S&P 500, while Apple (AAPL) rose 0.5%.

HSBC Holdings (HSBC) said a trial conducted with tech giant IBM (IBM) to explore the use of quantum computers in optimizing bond trading yielded "promising" results. IBM (IBM) shares were up 5.3%, the top gainer on the Dow and among the best on the S&P 500, while HSBC's (HSBC) US-listed shares fell 1.6%.

Costco Wholesale (COST) is scheduled to report its latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell Thursday.

Gold was up 0.1% at $3,770.60 per troy ounce, while silver gained 2.2% to $45.16 per ounce.

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