US Stocks Rise, Shutdown Enters Third Day

A partial U.S. federal government shutdown has begun and entered its third day, though markets have largely looked past the disruption. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed at record highs while the Nasdaq eased as investors focused on rising expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts after softer ISM/services employment readings and ahead of mixed jobs data. Big tech was mixed — Amazon and Microsoft ticked higher while some U.S. tech shares fell and Tesla slipped — and chip stocks rallied on renewed AI demand, helped by a preliminary agreement between South Korean firms and OpenAI’s Stargate project. Applied Materials warned of a roughly $600 million hit to fiscal 2026 revenue, weighing on some semiconductor names, while Asian and European tech benchmarks surged on the AI-led rally. Outside tech, gold miners have been standout performers this year (MSCI’s gold equities gauge is up about 135% YTD) and oil majors were pressured by slumping crude; analysts cautioned a prolonged shutdown could delay economic data releases and complicate the Fed outlook ahead of key jobs reports.