US stocks were marginally in the green on Friday as Wall Street took a breather after a strong rally in the previous session that pushed major indices to new record highs.
Strength in artificial intelligence-related stocks continued to underpin sentiment, even as the federal government shutdown extended into its third day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 88 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.2%, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.3%, with both indexes hitting fresh all-time highs.
Apple shares fell about 0.7% after Jefferies downgraded the stock to underperform from hold.
The brokerage said investor expectations had become “excessive” as rising demand for the iPhone 17 was fueling speculation around a foldable iPhone 18.
The move contrasted with Thursday’s gains across the technology sector, led by Nvidia, which also reached a record high.
Despite the political stalemate, equities are on course for a positive week.
The S&P 500 is up nearly 1.1% week to date, the Dow has gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq is higher by 1.6%.
Shutdown extends, jobs data blocked
The government shutdown, triggered by Congress’ failure on Tuesday to pass a funding bill, is heightening investor concerns about policy and economic uncertainty.
President Donald Trump has threatened significant layoffs, saying Democrats had given him an “unprecedented opportunity” to cut federal agencies.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates 750,000 federal workers are being furloughed each day.
The shutdown has also led to an economic data blackout. The Labor Department halted virtually all activity, preventing the release of the September nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
Top Democrats have remained firm on their demands to include an extension of health-care tax credits in any funding bill, prompting pushback from Trump and congressional Republicans.
While the absence of the data removes a potential drag on stocks, it also limits the Federal Reserve’s insight ahead of its October interest rate meeting.
“While this deprives the Federal Reserve of a key data point ahead of its October policy meeting, it also removes a potential downside catalyst for equities,” David Morrison, Senior Market Analyst at Trade Nation, said in a note.
He added:
The last two updates, for July and August, were dismal, with both coming in well below expectations, while there were also some large downward revisions.
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