U.S. equity futures signaled a quiet start to Thursday’s trading session, with major indexes hovering around the flatline after Wall Street finished mostly higher the previous day.
The absence of key economic indicators may keep some investors on the sidelines. The ongoing federal government shutdown, now in its ninth day, continues to delay the release of critical data, including the weekly jobless claims report that was expected from the Labor Department this morning.
While markets have largely brushed aside the immediate economic impact of the shutdown, prolonged disruptions to government services may begin to draw more attention from traders. Lawmakers in Washington remain gridlocked, with Democrats pushing to include an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits in a temporary funding measure.
Remarks from Federal Reserve officials could provide some catalysts later in the day. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s appearance at a Community Bank Conference offered no new clues on the interest rate outlook. However, speeches from Fed Governor Michael Barr and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman are on the agenda for this afternoon.
Wednesday’s session saw stocks reverse Tuesday’s losses, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 notching fresh record closes. The tech-focused Nasdaq jumped 255.02 points, or 1.1%, to 23,043.38, while the S&P 500 gained 39.13 points, or 0.6%, to 6,753.72. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished virtually unchanged, dipping 1.20 points to 46,601.78.
Gains were driven in part by a 2.2% rally in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which hit a new record close after CEO Jensen Huang said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that demand for AI computing has increased “substantially” over the past six months.
Investors also shrugged off the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting, which revealed a wide range of opinions on the future path of monetary policy. Most policymakers agreed that additional rate cuts would likely be appropriate this year, while others emphasized the need for caution given evolving financial conditions.
Technology stocks led the market’s advance, with computer hardware names pushing the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up 4.3% to an all-time closing high. Networking and semiconductor shares also performed strongly, further boosting the Nasdaq.
Beyond tech, gold miners gained ground as the precious metal continued its upward momentum, lifting the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index 2.8%. Steel and airline stocks also moved higher, while the banking sector showed mild weakness.
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