[New York Stock Market Briefing] Rises across the board on big-tech earnings optimism despite shutdown jitters

Wall Street’s three major stock indexes closed higher.

U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up tariff threats against Canada and concerns grew that the U.S. federal government could face a shutdown (temporary suspension of operations) amid partisan conflict, but stocks advanced on bargain hunting. The move is also seen as reflecting sustained optimism ahead of earnings reports from major big-tech companies.

On the 26th (local time), at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 313.69 points (0.64%) from the previous session to close at 49,412.40. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 gained 34.62 points (0.5%) to 6,950.23, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 100.11 points (0.43%) to finish at 23,601.36.

Ahead of the open, stock-index futures started in the red as a series of weekend negatives were priced in.

The pullback followed Trump’s weekend threat to impose a 100% tariff on Canadian products if Canada signs a trade agreement with China.

Nasdaq 100 futures at one point extended losses to as much as -1.46% in Asian trading.

Uncertainty was also fueled by reports that one civilian was again shot dead in Minnesota over the weekend in a shooting involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

As frustration over what has been criticized as excessive force by ICE has erupted nationwide, the Trump administration is also facing an unexpected backlash.

Trump’s approval rating was shown to have fallen to around 38% in a recent survey.

Concerns about a shutdown were further stoked after the Democratic Party said it would not cooperate on passing the budget, citing the civilian shooting by ICE as an issue. Democrats argue that the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, should be handled separately. If the budget is not passed by the 30th, the U.S. federal government would again be headed for a shutdown.

After the opening bell, however, bargain buying flowed in quickly, widening gains and ultimately pushing the indexes to close higher.

Despite Trump’s tariff threats toward Canada, the prevailing view was that he would ultimately “TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out),” and that Congress, with midterm elections approaching, would avoid a shutdown.

Instead, investors appeared upbeat about earnings from mega technology companies scheduled for this week. On the 28th, Microsoft, Tesla and Meta will release their fourth-quarter results for last year, and Apple will report earnings on the 29th.

Among individual stocks, Apple and Meta rose more than 2% ahead of their earnings announcements. Microsoft also gained 1%.

Tesla, meanwhile, fell for a second straight day ahead of its earnings report. Downside pressure has remained strong since it hit a peak of $498.83 on the 22nd of last month.

Shin Min-kyung, Hankyung.com reporter radio@hankyung.com