United States stock futures were flat during Thursday's evening trade (Friday AEST) after Wall Street’s three main benchmarks closed at record highs, with gains in technology and artificial intelligence shares outweighing the drag from a U.S. government shutdown now entering its third day.
By 9:10 am AEST (11:10 pm GMT) Dow futures, S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures were trading within a range of ±0.1%.
In extended trading, Applied Materials fell 3.5% after warning that new U.S. export restrictions will weigh heavily on sales.
The company expects fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 net revenue to be reduced by about US$110 million, with the hit widening to around $600 million in fiscal 2026.
Meanwhile, video platform Rumble jumped 11.9% after announcing a strategic partnership with Perplexity, the AI-powered search and answer engine.
During Thursday's regular trade, major indices refreshed record highs, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 0.2%, the S&P 500 inched up 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4%.
Nvidia and other AI-linked names continued to lead the rally, fuelling optimism despite political and economic uncertainty.
The government shutdown remains a central focus for investors. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC the lapse in funding could deal “a hit to the GDP, a hit to growth and a hit to working America”.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that 750,000 federal employees will be furloughed daily.
President Donald Trump has threatened mass layoffs across federal agencies, saying Democrats’ refusal to compromise has given him an “unprecedented opportunity” to push through government cuts.
The shutdown has also triggered a data blackout. The Labour Department has paused nearly all activity, meaning Friday’s September nonfarm payrolls report will not be released.
The lack of fresh data may complicate the Federal Reserve’s deliberations at its October policy meeting, though it could also remove a pressure point for stocks in the short term.
