US stocks rose to fresh records on Wednesday after the US government entered its first shutdown in seven years. Investors turned their focus to weak ADP jobs data, which helped cement bets on near-term rate cuts.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) advanced 0.3% to notch its first record close above 6,700. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained nearly 0.1% to post its second consecutive record close. Meanwhile the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) increased 0.4%, erasing losses earlier in the session.
The major gauges turned positive after a sluggish morning and after stocks closed out their strongest third quarter since 2020 on Tuesday.
Wall Street largely shrugged off the expected economic impact of the government shutdown, at least for now. The longer it lasts, the greater the likely hit to growth, as the fallout reaches the businesses that rely on the federal government’s daily output.
The shutdown comes at a potentially perilous time for the economy, as the ADP’s monthly employment report — in especially high focus Wednesday — showed private payrolls unexpectedly declined last month. The private sector lost 32,000 jobs, the report said, missing expectations for a gain of over 50,000.
That report likely spurred further bets on coming interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, however. Around 99% of bets are on a cut later this month, and expectations for a December cut — now at about 87% — also saw a big jump.
In Washington, agencies will now implement contingency plans and send hundreds of thousands of workers home, amid warnings from President Trump that “a lot” of firings are to come.
Markets are watching the developments closely. Among the agencies whose work is set to be frozen is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which gathers and reports economic data key to Federal Reserve policy decisions.
The BLS was set to release the September jobs report on Friday. But the nonfarm payrolls update is likely to be delayed, as BLS plans to “completely cease operations” with just one full-time employee kept in post.
The shutdown isn’t the only Trump policy push in focus on Wednesday, which marks the promised implementation of 100% tariffs on a range of pharmaceutical products and 25% duties on heavy-duty trucks.
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S&P 500 closes above 6,700 for first time as investors bet on October rate cuts
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) advanced on Wednesday to its first record close above 6,700 as investors shifted their focus from the first government shutdown in seven years to a weak labor market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained nearly 0.1% to post its second all-time high close in a row this week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) increased 0.4%, just a stone’s throw away from its own record.
Private ADP jobs data released this morning showed a further weakening of the labor market, all but cementing investor bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates at its next policy meeting later this month.
Today at 7:29 PM UTC
Gold touches another record amid government shutdown
Gold (GC=F) futures climbed to record highs on Wednesday as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid a government shutdown.
Futures for the precious metal surged past $3,900 per troy ounce before paring gains.
Silver futures (SI=F) also gained on Wednesday after rising 29% last quarter. Precious metals have outperformed this year amid expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts and pressure on the US dollar.
Today at 6:26 PM UTC
Intel stock rises 6% on report AMD could be a foundry customer
Intel (INTC) stock popped 6% on Wednesday after a Semafor report said the chip maker is in early stage talks to bring AMD (AMD) on as a customer for its foundry business.
It is not clear how much of AMD’s chip business would be manufactured by Intel, should a deal materialize.
AMD designs its processors, but currently relies primarily on Taiwan-based TSMC for production
Today at 6:21 PM UTC
Bitcoin climbs above $118,000 as investors pin hopes on ‘Uptober’ bounce
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) climbed over 3% on Wednesday and briefly topped $118,000 in afternoon trading as investors saw the crypto as benefiting from seasonal tailwinds and the uncertainty surrounding the government shutdown.
Conagra stock climbs after the company posted better-than-feared results
Conagra Brands (CAG) stock moved 3% higher on Wednesday after the snack and packaged foods producer slightly beat Wall Street’s low expectations, boosted by refrigerated and frozen segments.
Still, the company posted lower revenue and profit year over year as Americans continue to pull back from buying snacks. Revenue declined by 5.8% to $2.63 billion, while adjusted earnings per share declined by 26.4% to $0.39. Both were slightly higher than the Street forecast, per Bloomberg data.
The company reiterated its fiscal 2026 guidance and expects organic net sales to be down 1% to up 1% from fiscal 2025. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of $1.70 to $1.85.
“The consumer is certainly not out of the woods yet,” CEO Sean Connolly told investors on the earnings call. “We’re still seeing value-seeking behavior. We still have to deal with inflation and tariffs.”
CFO David Marberger said the company is seeing inflation pressure this quarter for proteins like “beef, pork, turkey, and then, to some extent, eggs.” He added that the company still expects a 3% impact on inflation from tariffs this year.
Volume growth overall fell 1.2%, less than the 1.45% drop Wall Street expected. Refrigerated and frozen volume returned to growth, up 0.5%, for the first time since the fall of last year, driven higher by refrigerated whipped toppings, pudding, canned tomatoes, hot dogs, frozen meals, and desserts.
Its protein snacks — with items like the Slim Jim meat snacks — are also seeing momentum.
“Slim Jim right now is tracking really well,” Connolly said. “That’s a very positive sign.”
Unexpectedly weak US private employment data fuels October rate cut expectations
Investors on Wednesday were pricing in 100% chances of the Federal Reserve easing interest rates at its next policy meeting in October, according to CME Group.
During the previous trading session, investors were betting on roughly 96% odds of a rate cut from the central bank.
The greater confidence in the Fed’s next move followed the release of weaker-than-anticipated private employment data. The latest data from ADP on Wednesday showed US private employers shed 32,000 jobs in September, while economists had expected those employers to add 51,000 jobs.
Today at 3:34 PM UTC
Treasury yields fall amid government shutdown
Treasury yields fell on Wednesday as investors bought the safety of US bonds amid the first government shutdown in nearly seven years.
The 10-year yield (^TNX) fell nearly four basis points to 4.11%, while the 30-year yield (^TYX) dipped three basis points to 4.7%, before both rebounded slightly.
The government shutdown that began Wednesday has clouded the Federal Reserve’s path to interest rate cuts with uncertainty, delaying the release of a key report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bureau’s monthly report that had been slated for release Friday shows the unemployment rate and number of new jobs created during the previous month, and it is closely watched by investors and policymakers to gauge the health of the US economy.
Today at 3:01 PM UTC
Meta shares fall as Mag 7 tech stocks trade mixed
Meta (META) shares fell nearly 3% Wednesday morning, extending a recent downturn in the stock. Shares dropped 1.2% during the previous trading session and have fallen more than 9% from record high of $790 in August.
On Tuesday, Nvidia-backed (NVDA) data center operator CoreWeave (CRWV) reported signing a $14 billion deal with Meta for the Instagram parent company to access its supply of Nvidia’s new Blackwell AI server systems. The move raised questions among some analysts about why Meta would rent access to Nvidia’s chips rather than buying them for its own data centers.
Meta on Tuesday also announced that it plans to acquire Rivos, a chip startup founded by former Google (GOOG) and Intel (INTC) executives and chaired by Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan. The move could boost Meta’s own in-house chip efforts as Nvidia’s Big Tech customers — most notable Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), and Amazon (AMZN) — have worked to expand their custom chip offerings.
In other news, Meta said Wednesday it will recommend ads to users based on their AI chats starting in December.
Other Mag 7 shares traded mixed Wednesday. Google and Microsoft fell around 1%, while Nvidia and Apple (AAPL) rose fractionally. Tesla (TSLA) gained 3%.
Today at 2:50 PM UTC
AES stock soars as BlackRock-owned Global Infrastructure Partners nears $38 billion takeover
Shares of the AES Corporation (AES) soared 15% at the market open on Wednesday after the Financial Times reported that BlackRock’s (BLK) Global Infrastructure Partners is nearing a $38 billion deal to buy the utility.
GIP, which owns stakes in London’s Gatwick airport and pipeline networks in the US and Middle East, is set to complete the takeover in the coming days in one of the largest infrastructure acquisitions of all time, according to the FT.
AES operates several power plants across the US and in other nations and is seen as benefiting from the surge in energy demand from the data centers owned by Big Tech giants. Though the stock has had a choppy 2025, as renewable energy has fallen out of favor in US policy. Year to date, shares are up just 2%.
BlackRock shares were down around 1% at the open on Wednesday.
Today at 2:25 PM UTC
Reddit stock falls for second day as references to its content in ChatGPT responses plummet
Reddit (RDDT) stock fell as much as 8% in early trading Wednesday, extending a 5% decline from the previous trading session amid new data that showed the use of its content in leading AI chatbot ChatGPT had plummeted in mid-September.
Reddit content was cited in just 2% of ChatGPT responses on Tuesday, much lower than the 9.7% of ChatGPT responses that cited Reddit the same day last month, according to data from AI search engine tracker Promptwatch. At its peak in September, Reddit was cited in more than 14% of ChatGPT answers.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led losses, dropping around 0.4%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.1%.
The declines come after the US government began its first shutdown in almost seven years and an ADP report showed private payrolls unexpectedly declined in September.
Today at 1:04 PM UTC
Ford CEO says customers are not interested in $75,000 EVs
Today at 12:35 PM UTC
ADP private payrolls data misses estimates as job creation drags
Job creation in the labor market continued to lose momentum in September across most sectors, ADP reported on Wednesday.
New data showed that private employers shed 32,000 jobs in September — missing Wall Street estimates for 51,000 jobs created, according to analysts tracked by Bloomberg.
The biggest decline was in the hospitality field, which lost 19,000 jobs, though several sectors reported job losses. The bright spot continues to be education and health services, which gained 33,000 jobs in September.
A government shutdown has heightened the significance of the private payrolls report, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not publish the all-important monthly jobs report during the stoppage. As my colleague Hamza Shaban notes in today’s Morning Brief (see the blog below), the hole left by that missing data is expected to complicate the Federal Reserve’s policymaking.
Private economic data is set to take on an even bigger role
Even before the latest threat of a government shutdown, policymakers and economists flagged a shift toward using more private data to get a picture of the US economy, writes Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban.
He reports in the takeaway from today’s Morning Brief:
Cal-Maine stock dives after the egg producer’s profit falls short of estimates
Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) stock dived 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday after its strong fiscal first quarter results were not strong enough to clear Wall Street analyst estimates.
The US’s largest egg producer recorded $4.12 per share in profit, compared to the average estimate on the Street of $5.10 per share, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Revenue of $922 million — a 17.4% increase year over year — was short of the $952 million expected.
The company noted that powerful consumer trends, like the growing demand for protein and focus on health and wellness, have supported US egg consumption. While bird flocks remain below their historical levels due to bird flu, Cal-Maine said supply is recovering.
Cal-Maine has worked to expand its specialty egg and prepared food offerings in recent quarters. Specialty egg sales, which made up nearly a third of Cal-Maine’s overall sales, rose 10.4% to $283.5 million. Prepared foods, such as pre-cooked egg patties and omelets, also saw significant growth. The segment grew 839% year over year to $83.9 million versus $8.9 million in fiscal 2025.
Today at 12:00 PM UTC
While the government is closed, jobs and inflation data go unreported
The government shutdown is likely to push back the release of the jobs report and inflation data for September — closely watched not just by the Federal Reserve, but also Social Security recipients, note Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman and Kerry Hannon.
