US stocks slide as investors await further stimulus negotiations

• US stocks finished down on Tuesday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index led the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes.
• Investors likely have their eyes on Tuesday night's presidential debate, where President Donald Trump will square off with former Vice President Joe Biden.
• Negotiations about additional fiscal stimulus to help combat the economic decline spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic continued on Tuesday.
• The negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to continue on Wednesday.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

US stocks finished the day lower on Tuesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, the Dow, and the S&P 500 indexes all sliding into the close.

Investors have their eyes on Tuesday night's presidential debate, where President Donald Trump will square off with Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, for the first time.

The heightened politics heading into the November election have reduced investors' hope that Congress will soon pass an additional stimulus package. But House Democrats on Monday proposed a COVID-19 relief package worth $2.2 trillion. It would restore the $600 weekly unemployment benefit and has many measures designed to appeal to Republicans, including aid to the airline industry.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin discussed the stimulus package on Tuesday during a nearly one-hour phone call. Negotiations are set to continue on Wednesday.

Here's where US indexes stood soon after the 4 p.m. market close on Tuesday:

• S&P 500: 3,335.38, down 0.48%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 27,451.81, down 0.48% (132 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 11,085.25, down 0.29%

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A measure of consumer confidence posted its biggest spike in 17 years as consumers bounce back from the economic decline caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

JPMorgan agreed to pay the largest-ever penalty to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, $920 million, and admit wrongdoing to resolve a criminal investigation into "spoofing" trades spanning eight years.

UBS said that while investors could expect the presidential debate to produce little policy substance, it could matter which candidate is thought to be the winner.

"Perceptions of performance and whether candidates were able to change the views of floating voters does make a difference," UBS said.

The economist Mohamed El-Erian said on Monday that investors shouldn't hold out hope for additional stimulus from Congress or the Federal Reserve.

Goldman Sachs said that a Democratic sweep in November would be "modestly positive" for US corporate earnings.

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Gold rose as much as 0.93%, to $1,899.14 per ounce. In a note on Tuesday, UBS laid out three reasons investors should buy gold.

Oil prices slid as investors questioned whether demand would sharply bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 5.32%, to $38.41 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 4.87%, to $40.43 per barrel, at intraday lows.