NEW YORK: Wall Street’s main indexes gained on Monday, following signs of progress in Washington to end a record government shutdown that has stalled economic data releases and intensified concerns over the state of the economy.
On Sunday, senators advanced a House-passed bill in a procedural vote that will be amended to fund the government until January 30. If passed in the Senate, it would require House approval and President Donald Trump’s signature, which could take several days.
“The government shutdown was continuing a lot longer than people had expected. There were concerns around the economy, about flights potentially being canceled and having a wider impact to the economy,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Northlight Asset Management’s chief information officer.
Most tech stocks jumped, with Nvidia gaining 3.4 percent, while Alphabet and Meta Platforms added 2.5 percent and 1.5 percent each.
Information technology and consumer discretionary stocks were the biggest boosts to the S&P 500 index.
Home Depot fell almost 2 percent, weighing on the Dow.
At 11:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.14 points, or 0.02 percent, the S&P 500 gained 47.90 points, or 0.71 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 310.37 points, or 1.35 percent.
The CBOE volatility index eased 0.8 points to 18.26, retreating from a three-week high touched on Friday.
The small-cap Russell 2000 gained 0.6 percent, while a broader semiconductor index rose 2.1 percent. Airlines came under pressure as government-directed flight cuts and air traffic staffing absences continue to disrupt US air travel. United Airlines and American Airlines dropped over 1 percent each.
On betting website Polymarket, predictions for an end to the shutdown this week stood at 85 percent.
Some Fed officials reiterated their caution regarding the monetary policy decision at the central bank’s next meeting, while Fed Governor Stephen Miran repeated his call for a big rate cut.
Optimism around artificial intelligence has fueled a bull run in US stocks this year, but concerns around monetization and circular spending within the sector drove a bout of selling in tech stocks last week. The Nasdaq marked its worst performance in over seven months.
Meanwhile, the third-quarter earnings season approached its conclusion. Of the 446 S&P 500 companies that have reported, 83 percent have delivered better-than-expected earnings, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Eli Lilly shares gained 4.9 percent to hit an intraday record high after Leerink Partners upgraded its rating on the stock.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.77-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.65-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and seven new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 75 new highs and 92 new lows.
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