The United States sharemarket continued to set records on Friday but not in the convincing fashion of previous days as the continuing government closure denied investors crucial economic data.
Two of the three major benchmarks finished at new highs as investors clung to hopes of another interest rate cut but they had to find and parse private sector data about the American jobs market.
The technology-laden Nasdaq Composition Index was the exception to the stock price ascent as the tech sector rally ended, at least temporarily.
“It certainly feels like momentum is on the side of investors over the last few days," Edward Jones Head of Investment Strategy Mona Mahajan was quoted in a Reuters story as saying.
Mahajan said the likelihood the U.S. Federal Reserve would further ease monetary policy had increased since the public sector closure began on 1 October due potentially to the negative economic impact and weaker private sector data last week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 238.56 points, or 0.51%, to 46,758.28 points, the S&P 500 managed an 0.44 points (0.01%) advance to a record finish of 6,715.79 but the Nasdaq gave away earlier gains to slip back 63.54 points (0.28%) to 22,780.51.
Among the tech stocks losing ground were Applied Materials, which forecast lower than expected 2026 revenue, and Tesla.
Also undermining the positive mood was President Donald Trump’s warning to Hamas it had to accept his 20‑point Gaza peace plan by 6pm EDT Sunday (22:00 pm GMT Sunday, 8:00 am AEST and 9:00 am AEDT Monday).
For the week, the Dow gained 1.1%, the S&P 500 also climbed 1.1% and the Nasdaq rose 1.3%.
AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver said although U.S. Government shutdowns typically had little effect on the economy and share markets, this time could be different.
The impact of the 20 shutdowns since 1976 had usually been offset immediately as workers returned to work but this closure was delaying data releases and the Government was threatening to sack Federal workers to close some programs.
In the absence of the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for September, the market considered an Institute for Supply Management survey showing weakness in employment, which bolstered Fed rate cut hopes.
On the U.S. bond markets, 10 year rates rose 0.88% to 4.121% while two-year paper added 0.99% to 3.576%.
