Stock market today: Live updates shutdown

The S&P 500 rose on Wednesday following the latest U.S. government shutdown as traders were hopeful that the funding lapse would be brief and possibly have little impact on the economy.

The broad market index inched up 0.2% and had hit a new all-time intraday high, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered around the flatline. At its low of the day, the S&P 500 was down 0.5%. The index’s move higher was led by a boost in health-care stocks, with big gains in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Moderna. Markets are coming off a banner month that saw the S&P 500 rise more than 3.5%.

The U.S. government shut down after attempts made by the Republican-controlled Senate to secure a temporary spending bill failed on Tuesday. Democrats are hoping to use the measure to codify an extension of health care tax credits for millions of Americans.

The stock market has typically glided through previous government shutdowns, but this one could be riskier, given the slew of economic factors at play. Investors remain worried about a slowing labor market and inflation risks as well as historically elevated stock valuations and market concentration levels.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Tuesday that the shutdown will result in the furlough of about 750,000 federal employees. Trump has threatened permanent mass firings of federal workers under a shutdown, adding a new economic risk to this stoppage.

This time around, the market is likely to focus on the length of the shutdown since a prolonged closure could delay key economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting in late October. The Labor Department said Friday it will shut down virtually all activity, meaning the September nonfarm payrolls report would not be released at the end of the week.

Data from processing firm ADP showed that private payrolls fell by 32,000 last month, well below the gain of 45,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had estimated. This reading, which signifies the biggest drop since March 2023, takes on even greater importance now that there’s an economic data blackout because of the shutdown.

The shutdown means the Fed will be partially flying blind with investors expecting the central bank’s second rate cut of the year later this month and another decrease in December. Wednesday morning’s ADP data likely keeps the Fed on track for an October rate cut.

“While the shutdown was expected, the lack of progress and urgency to a resolution has investors concerned,” said Jay Woods, chief market strategist for Freedom Capital Markets. “The backdrop to this shutdown is much different than the 2018 shutdown, which was the longest on record.”