The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite notched fresh record highs on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) as investors looked past the ongoing United States government shutdown and a divided Federal Reserve, as chip stocks pushed higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped just 1.20 points to close at 46,601.8, while the S&P 500 advanced 39.1 points or 0.6% to finish at 6,753.7, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 255.0 points or 1.1% to end at 23,043.4.
Stocks showed little reaction to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, which revealed internal disagreement among policymakers following the central bank’s first rate cut of 2025.
The minutes showed some members favouring additional easing, while others preferred a pause to assess inflation progress.
Chipmakers led the gains, while energy, consumer staples, and homebuilder stocks lagged.
A report from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed U.S. mortgage demand dropped 4.7% last week despite slightly lower borrowing costs.
Nvidia shares climbed 2% after CEO Jensen Huang said demand had increased sharply in recent months, telling CNBC that “this year, particularly the last six months, demand of computing has gone up substantially”.
Huang also confirmed Nvidia’s participation in funding Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, adding that he’s “super excited about the financing opportunity they’re doing”.
Meanwhile, Washington’s political deadlock continued to weigh in the background. The federal government shutdown entered its eighth day on Wednesday, as the Senate once again failed to pass competing stopgap funding measures.
It marked the sixth unsuccessful attempt to reopen the government since the shutdown began.
On the bond markets, Treasury yields were little changed, with the 10-year yield slipping 0.1% to 4.123%, while the 2-year note rose 0.4% to 3.584%.
