**Wall Street Sees Continued Decline as Investor Confidence Wanes**

For the third consecutive day, Wall Street experienced a slump as investor sentiment diminished amid uncertainty about U.S. fiscal and monetary policies. The S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, mirroring declines in the Dow Jones and tech stocks and signaling broad market frailty.

Stocks and commodities both faced downturns on Wednesday, while the U.S. dollar gained ground. The U.S. dollar index, as reflected by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, increased by 0.5%, achieving its highest levels since late July. This shift indicates a move by traders toward safer cash positions.

Midday trading in New York showed the S&P 500 trying to maintain support around 5,800 points, while the Dow Jones similarly fell by 0.7%. Tech stocks and small-cap stocks recorded even larger losses, slipping by 0.9%.

Further pressuring the market, mortgage applications declined for the fourth consecutive week, highlighting the ongoing burden of high borrowing costs. Existing home sales dropped by 1% in September to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 3.84 million, marking the lowest level since October 2010. This figure fell short of forecasts, which predicted 3.9 million, and followed a revised rate of 3.88 million in August.

Despite weaker-than-expected housing data, real estate stocks exhibited unexpected stability. The Vanguard Real Estate ETF VNQ and the SPDR Homebuilders ETF XHB both moved higher after two days of losses. Meanwhile, the SPDR Gold Trust GLD saw gold prices decline by over 1%, which also weighed on mining stocks. Silver experienced a steep drop of over 3%, falling from its 12-year highs reached on Tuesday.

Oil prices and Bitcoin also saw declines, with oil slipping 1% and Bitcoin (BTC/USD) tumbling by 2%, reflecting the broader trend of market downturns amid investor hesitancy.