The Nasdaq and S&P 500 closed higher on Monday as investors leaned into tech giants, betting on AI-driven growth despite looming U.S. government shutdown risks and hawkish Fed commentary. The S&P 500 rose 0.26%, Nasdaq gained 0.48%, and the Dow edged up 0.15%. Wall Street eyes Capitol Hill as fiscal 2026 begins with political gridlock.
00:00The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 closed modestly higher on Monday as investors bought heavyweight technology stocks and also shrugged off the uncertainty of a potential U.S. government shutdown and hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve officials.
00:16And of course, the technology sector provided the benchmark S&P's biggest boost as investors bet on growth from artificial intelligence, AI, and expectations that the Fed will keep cutting interest rates as it grapples with persistent inflation concerns and labor market uncertainties.
00:34Today is the last day of the quarter. So sometimes you can have what's called window dressing, meaning that fund managers want to buy the winners for the quarter and they get rid of the losers.
00:48And so we're probably seeing a little bit of that. We certainly saw it, I think, in early day trading.
00:53And the quarter is going to wind up being a great quarter. September didn't wind up being the month that it is historically known for,
01:02which is the worst performing month of the year. I think that opens up October to have some volatility, especially if we face a government shutdown.
01:11But when we look at a government shutdown, basically markets don't react to it.
01:17But it doesn't mean that this time there is not a reaction. So expect a little wobbles in October.
01:23And October is really known for great buying opportunities that lead into a great year end rally.
01:29So we're still looking for 7,000 on the S&P 500 for year end.
01:34So we still remain very positive and optimistic.
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