U.S. shutdown countdown... Third day of gains on rate-cut hopes [New York Stock Market Briefing]

The three major U.S. stock indexes rose for a third consecutive trading day. Investors interpreted that concerns over a temporary shutdown of the U.S. government increased the likelihood of a policy rate cut by the U.S. central bank (the Fed).

On the 30th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,397.89, up 81.82 points (0.18%) from the previous day, marking a record closing high.

The S&P 500 index rose 27.25 points (0.41%) to 6,688.46, and the Nasdaq Composite finished up 68.86 points (0.31%) at 22,660.01.

The market was generally weak intraday amid caution over the possibility of a U.S. shutdown.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at a Pfizer event held at the White House that he could not accept the Democrats' budget demands and that "we will probably have to go through a shutdown."

If Congress does not reach an agreement by midnight local time, the U.S. government will enter a shutdown. During a shutdown, U.S. economic releases are suspended and federal employees are shifted to unpaid leave.

A retreat in U.S. consumer sentiment also put downward pressure on the market. According to U.S. economic research group The Conference Board (CB), the September consumer confidence index fell to 94.2, its lowest in five months, below the market estimate (96).

However, as shutdowns historically have not lasted long, the market showed signs of recovery late in the session. Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said, "Investors are largely on the sidelines, having somewhat expected a shutdown," adding, "but if it lasts more than two weeks, concerns will grow."

Rather, there is a mood to interpret the shutdown as a factor prompting Fed rate cuts.

Elias Haddad, chief market strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman (BBH), analyzed that "a prolonged shutdown increases downside risks to growth and raises the likelihood that the Fed will adopt a more accommodative stance."

CoreWeave said it had signed a computing-power supply agreement with Meta Platforms, Facebook's parent company, worth up to US$14.2 billion (about KRW 20 trillion), and surged 11.7%. GPU supplier NVIDIA also rose 2.6%.

Pfizer rose 6.83% after news that the U.S. government would grant three years of tariff relief on the condition that Pfizer makes an investment of US$70 billion (about KRW 98 trillion) in the United States.

Airlines showed weakness amid concerns over a potential shortage of air traffic controllers due to a shutdown, with Southwest Airlines (-2.59%), United Airlines (-2.17%) and Delta Air Lines (-1.58%) among the laggards.

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