04:00 PM EDT, 09/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended higher Tuesday as markets parsed the latest economic data.

* US consumer confidence dropped to 98.7 in September from 105.6 last month, the Conference Board said.

September's drop was the largest since August 2021, Conference Board Chief Economist Dana Peterson said. Consumers were "more pessimistic" regarding future labor market conditions and less positive about future business conditions, Peterson said.

* US home prices increased in July to a 14th straight monthly record, though the pace of annual growth decelerated to the slowest level of 2024, S&P Global (SPGI) division S&P Dow Jones Indices said.

Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said home prices edged up 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in July, while June's 0.1% decrease was revised up to a flat level. The consensus was for a 0.2% rise in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

* November West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $1.19 to settle at $71.56 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.09 to $74.99 as China announced a package of stimulus measures to support a flagging economy, while supply tightened as Gulf of Mexico producers began evacuating platforms ahead of a storm forming in the region.

* Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) shares rose 1.3% even as the company's chief executive faced tough questioning from Senator Bernie Sanders on the pricing of the drugmaker's weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy during a hearing Tuesday.

* The US Justice Department sued Visa (V) alleging that it had illegally monopolized the debit card market in the US. Visa shares fell 5.4%.