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The S&P 500 made a new all-time high of 6,711 on Wednesday before the closing bell, surging by 0.34%, after touching a new intraday high earlier in the day’s session, after the first U.S. federal government shutdown in seven years hit.
The Nasdaq Composite surged by 0.42% to 22,755.16, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 43.21 points, or 0.09%, ending at 46,441, according to data from CNBC.
President Donald Trump’s administration directed federal agencies to “execute their plans for an orderly shutdown” after a stop-gap funding deal collapsed in Washington. The shutdown threatens delays to crucial economic data releases that guide central bank decisions.
The Federal Reserve is already expected to deliver its second interest rate cut of the year later this month, with another likely in December, and the absence of timely data leaves the Fed partially flying blind.
Gold rallies to record levels as Fed cuts loom
Gold surged to $3,950 an ounce on Wednesday, its fifth straight day of gains, and is now up 46% this year, putting it on track for the strongest annual gain since 1979. The shutdown’s timing and the Fed’s policy path have given fresh momentum to the metal.
Bloomberg data show September inflows into gold-backed exchange-traded funds reached their highest level in three years. Central-bank buying has also added support, and the shift back to rate cuts from the Fed has kept demand strong.
Silver jumped as much as 2.5% to $47.8290 an ounce, leaving it less than 4% away from its all-time high. It is up more than 60% this year, driven by the same macro factors as gold and compounded by tight supplies after several years of production deficits.
Both metals are responding to the same stresses in Washington that have lifted the S&P 500 to its current peak, even as traditional economic indicators are frozen by the government halt.
Data from past shutdowns support traders’ confidence. Between December 21, 2018, and January 25, 2019, when the longest funding gap in U.S. history took place, the S&P 500 rose 10.43% over 22 trading days, averaging 0.47% daily.
The pattern stretches back through earlier shutdowns in 1995, 1996, 2013, and 2018, all of which showed positive returns for the index during the funding gaps.
Intel rallies as it eyes AMD chip deal during rally
Intel stock rose 7% on Wednesday after a Semafor report by Rohan Goswami said the company is in early talks to manufacture AMD chips at its foundries.
AMD, which currently manufactures its chips with TSMC, has not confirmed how much production it might move, but any deal would be a major win for Intel’s foundry business.
Analysts say that landing a rival like AMD would allow Intel Foundry to invest more aggressively in its technology and send a clear message to other chip firms that it can handle their workloads.
This potential collaboration would also show AMD is willing to manufacture with its largest competitor. For now, the talks are described as preliminary.
Intel’s CEO Lip-Bu Tan has been trying to turn the company around, and has drawn backing from Nvidia, SoftBank, and the U.S. government, though Nvidia has not agreed to use Intel’s foundry. Despite that, Intel is up nearly 77% year-to-date.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s next moves are under intense watch. Wednesday morning’s ADP report added to the uncertain picture, but investors still expect a rate cut in October and possibly another in December.
With the shutdown cutting off data, the Fed is steering without its usual dashboard. Markets, however, continue to rally. But who knows how long that’ll last?
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