Stocks Retreat as the US Government Shuts Down

Economic Indicators - The US ADP employment change for September unexpectedly fell by 32,000, marking the largest decline in 2.5 years, with August revised lower to a loss of 3,000 from a previously reported gain of 54,000 [2] - The MBA mortgage applications decreased by 12.7% for the week ending September 26, with the purchase mortgage sub-index down by 1.0% and the refinancing sub-index down by 20.6% [2] - The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose by 12 basis points to 6.46% from 6.34% in the prior week [2] Stock Market Performance - Stock indexes continued to decline due to signs of a weakening US labor market, with the S&P 500 down by 0.18%, the Dow Jones down by 0.19%, and the Nasdaq 100 down by 0.27% [5] - The government shutdown led to a risk-off sentiment in stocks, causing the dollar index to fall to a one-week low and gold prices to reach a record high [4] Corporate Earnings Expectations - More than 22% of S&P 500 companies provided guidance for Q3 earnings that are expected to exceed analysts' expectations, the highest in a year [6] - S&P companies are projected to achieve 6.9% earnings growth in Q3, an increase from 6.7% at the end of May [6] Company-Specific Movements - Corteva (CTVA) shares fell over 5% after announcing plans to split its seed and pesticide businesses [12] - Viasat Inc (VSAT) declined more than 3% following a downgrade by Barclays [12] - AES Corp (AES) shares rose over 13% on news of potential acquisition talks by BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners [14] - Nike (NKE) increased more than 3% after reporting Q1 revenue of $11.72 billion, surpassing the consensus of $11.02 billion [15]