Consumers are nervously awaiting the budget, reports data provider GfK, while national debt hits highest level since 1960s.   15:28 A day after stocks hit record highs, the mood on Wall Street is a little more subdued today.

A long-running measure of consumer confidence has shown a significant drop in September, after warnings by the new government about the state of the public finances and a “painful” Autumn Budget to come.

The last time the index declined so steeply was in April 2022, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine which sent energy costs soaring.