FX.co ★ US Future Rise Despite Ongoing Shutdown

U.S. stock futures experienced an uptick on Monday as investors dismissed concerns regarding the ongoing government shutdown, following yet another failure by lawmakers to secure a funding agreement. The shutdown has led to the suspension of several key federal programs and the postponement of significant economic reports, including the September jobs data that was scheduled for release last Friday. Over the past week, the Dow climbed 1.1%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite increased by 1.09% and 1.32%, respectively, pushing all three indexes to new record highs. The surge was primarily driven by technology and semiconductor stocks, with OpenAI’s successful share sale elevating its valuation to a historic $500 billion, thereby sparking renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence. Concurrently, recent economic data has heightened expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate reductions, with the market almost entirely factoring in a quarter-point rate cut for this month, followed by another in December. Investors are now turning their attention to forthcoming statements from central bank officials this week to gain further policy insights.