By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta (Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes gained on Monday, kicking off a potentially turbulent week on a strong footing as investors shrugged off hawkish remarks from a Federal Reserve official and weighed the impact of a looming government shutdown. The moves build on Friday’s gains, when […]
Business
S&P 500, Nasdaq rise as investors look past hawkish talk, await shutdown clarity
Audio By Carbonatix
By Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta
(Reuters) – The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq indexes gained on Monday, kicking off a potentially turbulent week on a strong footing as investors shrugged off hawkish remarks from a Federal Reserve official and weighed the impact of a looming government shutdown.
The moves build on Friday’s gains, when an in-line inflation print kept hopes for rate cuts alive and lifted all three major indexes, despite their overall declines for the week.
Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, among the most hawkish Fed officials and not a voter on policy this year, said the central bank needed to maintain restrictive monetary policy to cool inflation. Traders, however, are pricing in a 91.4% chance of a 25-basis-point cut at the next Fed meeting.
At 10:03 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17.64 points, or 0.04%, to 46,228.17. The S&P 500 gained 25.48 points, or 0.38%, to 6,669.18, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 178.39 points, or 0.79%, to 22,662.67.
The S&P 500 technology sector gained about 1%. Nvidia rose 2.8%, while Micron Technology added 4.9%. Lam Research advanced 2.6%, after Deutsche Bank upgraded the rating on the chip-making equipment firm to “buy” from “hold”.
The stocks drove the broader semiconductor index to a record-high, as well as boosted the Nasdaq.
Communication services stocks added 0.8% on the S&P 500. Energy stocks declined 1.9%.
Losses in stocks such as Chevron, down 2.3%, and McDonald’s, down 0.7%, weighed on the Dow.
Attention is now riveted on a standoff between Republicans and Democrats over funding that has raised the prospect of a shutdown beginning Wednesday, the first day of the U.S. government’s 2026 fiscal year.
“I don’t think the shutdown is the doomsday scenario,” said Mel Casey, senior portfolio manager at FBB Capital Partners. “It could actually be an opportunity for Republicans to push through more government spending cuts.”
Still, some analysts warned that a shutdown could stall the release of key economic data, including Friday’s nonfarm payrolls report, and cloud the outlook for markets.
The S&P 500 has gone 103 trading days without falling below its 50-day average, an unusually long streak that shows how strong the market has been, BTIG said, noting that the index may be due for a pullback.
Through the day, investors will monitor commentary from several other Fed policymakers for any signs of concern over the potential loss of economic visibility should a shutdown materialize.
U.S.-listed shares of cannabis-related companies rose, with Canopy Growth and Cronos Group climbing 16.3% and 11.6%, respectively, while Tilray Brands added 36.1%. Trump on Sunday shared a video promoting the health benefits of hemp-derived cannabidiol.
Electronic Arts climbed 4.8% after agreeing to be taken private in a $55 billion deal.
Western Digital hit a record-high and were last up 9.2%, to top the benchmark index, after at least two brokerages raised their target price on the data storage products maker.
Seagate Technology rose 7.1% to hit a record high after at least two brokerages raised their target price.
Carnival fell 2.3% despite raising its annual profit forecast.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.15-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 1.24-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted 25 new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 76 new highs and 41 new lows.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shilpi Majumdar)