United States stock futures traded in a tight range on Tuesday evening (Wednesday AEST) as investors sought to extend momentum from the previous session despite the risk of a potential federal government shutdown.
By 9:25 am AEST (11:25 pm GMT), futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq 100 were all trading within a range of ±0.1%.
On Monday, Wall Street advanced across the board, with technology and artificial intelligence-linked names regaining ground after last week’s pullback.
The S&P 500 ended the day higher, extending its September gain to more than 3%, while the Dow has climbed 1.7% this month. The Nasdaq Composite has outperformed, rising 5.3% in September.
Despite the upbeat tone, traders remain cautious as Washington faces a 1 October deadline to avert a government shutdown.
Shutdowns have historically had little impact on markets, but this episode may prove more disruptive, particularly given investor unease over slowing labour market growth, the threat of stagflation and stretched equity valuations.
The Labor Department has already said Friday’s September nonfarm payrolls report will not be released if the shutdown goes ahead.
The jobs data is a key input for the Federal Reserve ahead of its October policy meeting.
Adding to market nerves, President Donald Trump said over the weekend that a shutdown could lead to large-scale cuts to the federal workforce.
