02:30 PM EDT, 09/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday as President Donald Trump reportedly said that a federal government shutdown was "probably likely."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite were down 0.3% each at 46,174.5 and 22,527.6, respectively, after midday Tuesday, while the S&P 500 fell 0.2% to 6,650.5. Among sectors, energy saw the biggest drop, while health care paced the gainers.

Trump blamed the Democrats for a looming funding lapse at midnight, CNN reported Tuesday. A meeting between Republicans and Democrats on Monday yielded no progress on a spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown.

US Treasury yields were mixed intraday Tuesday, with the two-year rate dropping 2.9 basis points to 3.60% and the 10-year rate little changed at 4.14%.

In economic news, US job openings rose to 7.23 million as of the last day of August from 7.21 million the month before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' job openings and labor turnover survey. The consensus was for a 7.2 million level in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The data come ahead of the official jobs report for this month, currently scheduled for a Friday release. However, the looming government shutdown is likely to delay that report.

Assuming a shutdown is avoided and the September nonfarm payrolls report is released, it is expected to show a payroll gain of 51,000, compared with August's 22,000 rise, Stifel said in a Tuesday note.

US consumer confidence this month deteriorated to its lowest level since April amid concerns about the labor market, while 12-month inflation expectations declined, a report by the Conference Board showed.

"Consumers' assessment of business conditions was much less positive than in recent months, while their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month to reach a new multiyear low," said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at the Conference Board.

Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins on Tuesday expressed willingness to support additional interest rate cuts this year, saying she now sees "limited" upside risks to inflation.

Separately, Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson said risks to employment are likely tilted to the downside, while those to inflation are leaning upside.

"I expect the disinflation process to resume after this year and inflation to return to the (Fed's) 2% target in the coming years," Jefferson said. "With the unemployment rate at 4.3%, the labor market is softening, which suggests that, (if) left unsupported, it could experience stress."

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 1.5% at $62.50 a barrel intraday. "The resumption of oil exports from Iraq's Kurdistan region reinforced market expectations of a supply surplus," D.A. Davidson said in a note.

In company news, Spotify Technology ( SPOT ) said it has appointed Gustav Soderstrom and Alex Norstrom as co-chief executives, replacing Daniel Ek, who will become executive chairman, effective Jan. 1. The audio streaming company's US-listed shares were down 5.7%.

Merck ( MRK ) shares rose 5.1%, the top gainer on the Dow and the second-best on the S&P 500. The company said a phase 3 trial showed that its experimental drug, Winrevair, reduced the risk of clinical worsening events by 76% in adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension at intermediate or high risk, compared with placebo.

Pfizer ( PFE ) was the best S&P 500 performer, up 5.3%, after the drugmaker said it struck a deal with the Trump administration to reduce prices for prescription medicines. Pfizer ( PFE ) pledged an additional $70 billion for US research, development and capital projects in the next few years.

Sportswear giant Nike ( NKE ) is scheduled to release its latest quarterly financial results after the closing bell Tuesday.

Gold was up 0.5% at $3,873 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.8% to $46.65 per ounce.