Market Overview - U.S. stocks showed mixed performance with the Dow Jones index increasing by 0.72% to 46,399.60, while NASDAQ decreased by 0.17% to 22,656.09 and S&P 500 rose by 0.26% to 6,672.03 [1] - Industrial shares experienced a notable increase of 1.4%, whereas information technology stocks fell by 0.8% [1] Company Earnings - Citigroup reported third-quarter revenue of $22.09 billion, a 9% year-over-year increase, surpassing expectations of $21.09 billion, driven by strong performances in Markets, U.S. Personal Banking, and Investment Banking [2] - The bank's net income rose to $3.75 billion, with earnings per share increasing to $2.24 from $1.51 a year earlier, exceeding estimates of $1.90 per share [2] Stock Movements - Astria Therapeutics, Inc. saw a significant share price increase of 39% to $11.78 following BioCryst's announcement of plans to acquire the company [7] - Navitas Semiconductor Corporation's shares surged by 20% to $12.01 after a positive development update on its advanced power devices [7] - Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson's shares rose by 17% to $9.57 after reporting third-quarter EPS and sales above estimates [7] - Orion S.A. experienced a 22% drop in shares to $5.36 after preliminary third-quarter results [7] - The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. saw a decline of 4% in shares to $757.27 following its third-quarter results [7] - Electra Battery Materials Corporation's shares fell by 28% to $5.00 [7] Commodity Market - Oil prices decreased by 2.2% to $58.21, while gold prices slightly increased by 0.1% to $4,138.60 [4] - Silver prices fell by 0.8% to $50.035, and copper prices dropped by 3.3% to $4.9765 [4] European Market Performance - European shares declined, with the eurozone's STOXX 600 falling by 0.54%, Spain's IBEX 35 Index down by 0.08%, London's FTSE 100 down by 0.14%, Germany's DAX 40 down by 0.88%, and France's CAC 40 dipping by 0.35% [5] Asian Market Performance - Asian markets closed lower, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling by 2.58%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index down by 1.73%, China's Shanghai Composite down by 0.62%, and India's BSE Sensex declining by 0.36% [8] Economic Indicators - The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index decreased to 98.8 in September from 100.8 in the previous month, missing market estimates of 100.5 [9]

Core Insights - U.S. business activity continued to grow in September, but the growth rate slowed for the second consecutive month [1][2] - The Flash U.S. Composite PMI Output Index decreased from 54.6 in August to 53.6 in September, indicating a slowdown in both manufacturing and service sectors [2] - Despite the slowdown, the PMI reading remained elevated, and the third quarter saw the strongest average monthly expansion since Q4 2024 [2] Business Sentiment - Growth remained "robust" in September, although it decreased from the peak observed in July [3] - Companies' expectations for output in the upcoming year rose to a four-month high in September, although still below long-term averages [3] - Sentiment in the service sector reached its highest level since May, while manufacturing sentiment was the highest in three months [4] Economic Factors - Business sentiment improved partly due to anticipated benefits from lower interest rates, despite ongoing concerns over the political environment and tariffs [5] - Retail sales in August showed a stronger-than-expected gain of 0.6% from the previous month and a 5% increase from August 2024 [6] - The National Federation of Independent Businesses reported a rise in small business sentiment, with the Small Business Optimism Index increasing by 0.5 points to 100.8 [6] Labor Market Concerns - The number of business owners expecting higher sales increased by 6 points to 12%, although concerns about labor shortages persisted [7] - Despite improvements in overall business health, labor quality remained the top issue for small business owners [7]