What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the U.S. government hurtled toward a potential shutdown, sparking economic uncertainty and weighing on investor confidence. 

Market volatility increased as a partisan standoff pushed the federal government closer to a shutdown. If lawmakers fail to reach a spending agreement, a shutdown would begin, furloughing thousands of federal workers. This prospect has weighed on investor sentiment, creating a 'risk-off' mood in the markets as traders brace for potential economic disruption. The political uncertainty adds a layer of caution for investors heading into the final day of the month. 

Adding to the weakness, a key report showed U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly fell to a five-month low in September. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index slid to 94.2, a steeper drop than analysts had anticipated and its lowest reading since April. This downturn reflects growing pessimism among Americans about inflation and a weakening job market. Consumer confidence is a closely watched economic indicator as it gauges households' willingness to spend. A decline suggests that consumers may pull back on discretionary purchases, such as dining out or shopping for non-essential goods, which could negatively impact the future revenues and profits of companies in these sectors.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Payment Processing company Shift4 (NYSE: FOUR) fell 3.1%. Is now the time to buy Shift4? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Personal Loan company OneMain (NYSE: OMF) fell 2.7%. Is now the time to buy OneMain? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Personal Loan company Enova (NYSE: ENVA) fell 5.4%. Is now the time to buy Enova? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Specialty Finance company Encore Capital Group (NASDAQ: ECPG) fell 5.1%. Is now the time to buy Encore Capital Group? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Credit Card company American Express (NYSE: AXP) fell 3.4%. Is now the time to buy American Express? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Enova (ENVA)

Enova’s shares are somewhat volatile and have had 11 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 28 days ago when the stock dropped 1.3% on the news that the major indices continued to retreat (Nasdaq -1.5%, S&P 500 -1.2%) amid profit-taking and renewed concerns about tariffs. 

The negative mood was driven by a court decision that ruled most of President Trump's tariffs illegal, creating market uncertainty even though they remain in place on appeal. Adding to the concerns, the latest US ISM Manufacturing PMI data came in at 48.7, slightly below the 49.0 consensus and indicating a continued contraction in the manufacturing sector. This economic weakness, combined with ongoing investor concerns about persistent inflation and the future of interest rate cuts, contributed to a general risk-off sentiment that pulled equities lower.

Enova is up 18.6% since the beginning of the year, but at $114 per share, it is still trading 10.5% below its 52-week high of $127.32 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Enova’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $6,955.

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