Shutdown‘s Limited Impact on Wall Street – For Now

The federal government shut down last week, but you might not know it looking at the stock market.The S&P 500 ended the week at a record high, with six straight days of gains. However, Wall Street may start paying more attention as the shutdown in Washington continues.

Right now, the market believes a temporary shutdown won’t considerably change the U.S. economy or company profits.This is because furloughed government workers will get back pay when the shutdown ends. There’s also a belief that President Trump’s threats to fire many federal employees won’t happen,or will face legal challenges.

Investors do wish they had the usual economic data from government agencies – especially the September jobs report – to help predict what the Federal Reserve will do at its meetings in late October and December. But other data,like the ADP private payrolls report,is helping fill the gap. The shutdown also isn’t affecting the strong interest in artificial intelligence, wich has been boosting the market.

Nvidia, a leading AI chip maker, has seen positive results in six out of the last seven trading sessions. The market is assuming a short shutdown will limit economic damage. Whether that’s true depends on politicians in Washington who couldn’t agree on funding before the shutdown began Wednesday night.

Here’s what else is happening:

• Shutdown update: As of Sunday morning, the government remains shut down. The Senate reconvened Friday to consider spending proposals from both Republicans and Democrats, but failed to pass any.A debate over funding for the Affordable Care Act is a key sticking point.
• Senate Vote: Passing a spending bill requires 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate. Republicans hold 53 seats and need support from Democrats.
• democratic Support: Some Democrats, including Senators John Fetterman (Pennsylvania), catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), and Angus King (maine), have supported temporary funding measures. Though, more support is needed.