Update: Wall Street Drifts Lower Despite Retreat in Oil Prices

05:04 PM EDT, 09/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.) US equity benchmarks drifted lower Tuesday to log back-to-back declines as traders parsed fresh economic data, while oil prices pulled back. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.3% to close at 51,349.92, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.2% to 7,670.84. The Nasdaq Composite edged down 0.1% to 26,797.54. Most sectors ended in the red, led by energy, while utilities paced the gainers. In economic news, US consumer confidence tumbled this month to the lowest level since 2014 as Americans turned pessimistic amid elevated energy prices, the Conference Board said. "With high gasoline prices weighing on both (consumers') real disposable income and their confidence, we expect the pace of spending to slow over the next few quarters," Oxford Economics said in a note. US job openings fell in August amid a sharp decline in professional and business services, while overall hiring ticked higher, official data showed. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 3.8% at $89.09 a barrel in Tuesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent lost 2.8% to $102.32. However, both benchmarks were still on track for their third consecutive monthly gains. Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr on Tuesday renewed calls for more interest rate increases to curb sticky inflation. While New York Fed President John Williams also expects monetary policy to get tighter, he sees no urgency to act. Markets are largely split over whether the Fed will lift interest rates again by 25 basis points next month, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Oxford Economics recently said that the next rate increase could come as early as October amid elevated oil prices. Treasury yields were mixed, with the two-year yield down 3.7 basis points at 4.89%, while the 10-year yield was little changed at 5.25%. In company news, Fair Isaac (FICO) shares tumbled nearly 27%, the worst performer on the S&P 500. On Monday, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said on X that consumer credit-scoring model VantageScore will join the existing FICO classic mortgage pricing grid. CarMax (KMX) reported stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter revenue Tuesday, buoyed by a double-digit increase in comparable used-vehicle sales amid early momentum in the company's growth plan. The used-vehicle retailer's shares climbed 4.7%. Smart ring maker Oura delayed its planned initial public offering, joining a growing list of companies that are postponing plans to go public in the US amid market uncertainty. Spot gold gained 1.4% to $4,174.01 per troy ounce, while silver edged up 0.1% to $61.79 per ounce.