Major indices rise despite shutdown concerns…'AI theme' strong [New York stock market briefing]

NVIDIA 2% rise…oil prices plunge

The New York stock market closed strong as buying pressure flowed into artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks despite concerns over a U.S. federal government shutdown (temporary work stoppage).

On the 29th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,316.07, up 68.78 points (0.15%) from the previous trading day; the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index closed at 6,661.21, up 17.51 points (0.26%); and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite closed at 22,591.15, up 107.09 points (0.48%).

Buying interest centered on tech stocks. NVIDIA rose 2% on the day, leading gains in the AI theme. Microsoft and Amazon also recorded gains of around 1% each.

OpenAI's signing of deals with e-commerce platform service providers such as Etsy and Shopify and the launch of a feature that allows purchases and checkouts from ChatGPT further highlighted the AI theme.

News that U.S. major game company Electronic Arts (EA) is being sold to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund for 55 billion dollars injected vigor into the market.

Investors closely watched shutdown talks as well. The U.S. Senate plans to re-vote on a temporary budget bill (short-term spending bill) on the 30th, the last day of the federal government's fiscal year 2025. The temporary budget bill would be effective for seven weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump was reported to be discussing with congressional leaders from the afternoon to avoid a shutdown.

Historically, shutdowns have not delivered a major shock to the stock market. However, if a shutdown delays the release of key economic indicators, the market could find it difficult to set a direction amid uncertainty.

The U.S. Department of Labor said on the day that if a shutdown occurs, it will postpone the release of economic indicators, including the September nonfarm payrolls report scheduled for the 3rd.

As the United States and Israel agreed on a ceasefire plan for the Gaza Strip, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices plunged 3.45% from the previous trading day. As a result, Chevron and ExxonMobil saw their stocks fall more than 2%.

EA's stock jumped 4.5%. The Saudi sovereign wealth fund-led consortium said it would buy shares from minority shareholders at 210 dollars per share as part of taking EA private.

No Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com reporter dong2@hankyung.com