In August, orders for US durable manufactured goods barely increased. This showed a possible sign that companies had been holding back on investments. This was after uncertainty was displayed over government spending.

A data was showed last Wednesday which displayed sales of new US homes last month. The sales were near their lowest level of the year. This showed that a rise in interest rates had been weighing on the economy.

Last month, orders for durable goods increased 0.1%. The increase was driven by the strongest rise in vehicle orders from February, according to a Commerce Department data. The data also showed non-military capital goods shipments other than aircraft increased 1.3% during the same month.

According to Newedge Strategy analyst Annalisa Piazza, "Companies are still cautious in their capex (capital expenditure) due to the uncertain economic scenario."

The data had less impact on sentiment on Wall Street. This was because all eyes were set more focused on debates in the US Congress over the national debt and the government spending.