Stocks rose on Monday after Senate lawmakers took a critical step towards a potential deal to end the historic U.S. government shutdown.
Nvidia, Broadcom and other artificial intelligence bull market leaders led the gains in premarket trading as a possible end to the shutdown put investors in a risk-taking mood again. Those stocks led the broader market lower last week as those on Wall Street grew worrisome about elevated valuations in the AI trade.
Investors continue to monitor lawmakers’ negotiations to pass a federal funding bill that would end a shutdown.
A procedural measure that allows other votes on the agreement to be held on Monday was approved by a minimum of 60 yes votes, after eight senators in the Democratic caucus broke with party leadership to support the deal.
The deal being would reopen the government into January and reverse some of the recent mass federal layoffs. It also includes future protections for government workers. The agreement does not include an extension of ACA credits, a key sticking point for most Democrats, but it would call for a vote on the subsidies in December.
A final vote in the Senate on the funding bill will need to be held, followed by passage by the House.
Concerns over the shutdown have driven consumer sentiment to its lowest level in more than three years, just above its worst-ever, according to a University of Michigan survey released on Friday. Due to the closure, federal agencies are no longer releasing many key economic reports, including the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index, which were scheduled for release this week.
“As the shutdown is having an increasingly negative impact on the US economy, concluding it is obviously a positive, but it’s also happening at a seasonally favorable time of the year, with many taking the 60-40 vote last night as a green light for a year-end rally to ... commence,” said Vital Knowledge founder Adam Crisafulli. “We’re not ready to declare all clear just yet – the shutdown was only one of three factors weighing on sentiment.”
The shutdown has added to angst in the market alongside mounting concerns regarding AI valuations. Last week, the Nasdaq Composite saw its worst week since the tariff-driven selloff in April, losing roughly 3%. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow shed more than 1% in the weekly period.