Markets ended the week higher with the S&P 500 closing at a new record high despite the government shutting down for the first time since 2018.
The month and quarter came to a close following Tuesday’s session. The S&P 500 had its best September in 15 years, and the index notched a second straight quarter of gains. Tuesday was also the fiscal year-end for the U.S. government with no full-year funding agreement in place and thus the government shutdown went into effect Wednesday as Congress failed to pass a stopgap measure or the necessary appropriations bill to keep the federal agencies funded. The government shutdown threatens a blackout in crucial economic data that the Fed needs to make its rate decisions, meaning investors and policymakers will rely more on private reports.
Weekly initial jobless claims and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ nonfarm payroll data was delayed due to the shutdown investors focused on the midweek JOLTs and ADP payroll reports that remained consistent with other data over the past month indicating that the labor market is slowing.
In other news markets were boosted by the health-care sector following President Trump unveiling plans to launch a government run website for consumers to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. Pfizer Chief Executive Albert Bourla said Pfizer plans to offer its drugs on the site at a reduced rate. OpenAIs secondary share sale bolstered optimism for artificial intelligence which drove tech names higher.
