By Alex Eule

Glimmer of Hope. It was day 38 of the U.S. government shutdown. With flight delays mounting and worries brewing about the health of Americans and the economy, Wall Street might finally be paying attention. So, after a terrible week for the market, stocks seemed to get a small boost late Friday when a new path opened to end the shutdown -- Democrats offered to reopen the government in exchange for a one-year extension of healthcare subsidies. The offer was quickly rejected, but it represents movement toward a resolution.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, down as much as 416 points midday, rallied to close 75 points higher on the day, up 0.2%. The blue-chip index was still down 1.2% on the week. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite saw weekly losses of 1.6% and 3.0%, respectively.

Still not a great week despite Friday's intraday rally. Wall Street has ample reason for its sour mood. Stocks are pricey. The Federal Reserve's next rate decision remains uncertain. And the job market is either terrible or mediocre, depending on which dataset you believe. (Today should have brought October jobs numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the federal shutdown has the report on pause.)

Sure enough, consumer sentiment is in the tank. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index released today came in well below economists' forecasts, to a near record low of 50.3. It's down 6% from last month and 30% from a year ago.

"With the federal government shutdown dragging on for over a month, consumers are now expressing worries about potential negative consequences for the economy," Joanne Hsu, the director of the consumer survey, said. "This month's decline in sentiment was widespread throughout the population, seen across age, income, and political affiliation."

Hsu offered one exception: Those Americans with large holdings of stocks. That group saw an 11% increase on the sentiment index, thanks to strong market performance.

As readers of this newsletter know, stocks have recently overlooked broader worries about geopolitics and the economy. Now we know, shareholders themselves seem to be doing the same.

Today's stock moves could suggest a turning point, though. If markets are now moving on political negotiations, we could be entering a new phase. We'll know more on Monday.

The Hot Stock: Expedia Group +17.6% The Biggest Loser: Take-Two Software Interactive -8.1%

Best Sector: Consumer Staples +1.5% Worst Sector: Technology -0.4%

This Weekend's Magazine

The Calendar

Earnings season is winding down, but there are still a few big names reporting results next week.

The U.S. stock market will be open on Tuesday, but the bond market will close for Veterans Day.

Walt Disney will headline the earnings slate on Thursday. It will be the last time the House of Mouse provides quarterly streaming service subscriber numbers.

Maplebear, Coreweave, Occidental Petroleum, Monday.com, Plug Power, and Barrick Mining report on Monday. They'll be followed by Oklo on Tuesday. Cisco Systems, Flutter Entertainment, Tencent Music Entertainment, Circle Internet Group, On Holding, and GlobalFoundries report on Wednesday. Applied Materials, Brookfield, Tencent, and JD.com will report on Thursday.

Wall Street would have gotten October updates on consumer and producer price inflation this week, but the shutdown has halted most government data releases.

-- Connor Smith

What We're Reading Today

   -- Palantir's CEO Says His Earnings Were the Best Ever. They Weren't Even 
      the Best of the Week. 
 
   -- Inside Corning's Bold Bid to Revive the U.S. Solar Industry 
 
   -- Warren Buffett's Letter Comes Monday. Why It's a Must-Read. 
 
   -- DraftKings Says Prediction Markets Will Pressure More States to Legalize 
      Sports Betting 
 
   -- And this weekend's cover story: China's Stocks are Flying as Beijing 
      Doubles Down on Tech. Why the Economy Is Still Struggling. 

Join Barron's Live on Monday at noon. Barron's Lauren Rublin and Ben Levisohn speak with Jeffrey Sherman, deputy chief investment officer at fixed-income powerhouse DoubleLine, about how to navigate a slower-growth, high-inflation world.

Barron's Live features timely and actionable insights for investors. We give you behind-the-scenes conversations with the newsroom, connecting you with our editors and reporters covering the markets, the economy, and more.

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November 07, 2025 19:55 ET (00:55 GMT)

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