U.S. three major indexes 'rise' on prospects of shutdown resolution... Apple hits record high [New York Market Briefing]

Major U.S. stock indices all rose. Easing U.S.-China trade tensions and expectations that the federal government shutdown (temporary work stoppage) will end appeared to boost investor sentiment.

On the 20th (local time) on the New York market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 46,706.58, up 515.97 points (1.12%) from the previous session. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index rose 71.12 points (1.07%) to 6,735.13, and the Nasdaq index closed at 22,990.54, up 310.57 points (1.37%).

All three major indices neared record highs on a closing basis.

The market appeared to react to prospects that the federal government shutdown could end. Kevin Hassett, Chair of the National Economic Council (NEC), said in a CNBC interview that "our friends in the Senate have been saying that ending the shutdown before the 'No Kings' protest would give the Democrats a bad image," and added, "Now there is an opportunity for the situation to be resolved quickly this week."

Trade war tensions also eased. U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters after meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the White House that "if there is no agreement by November 1, we will raise tariffs," while also saying, "I plan to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week."

Apple's rise also had a positive effect on the indices. Investment bank Loop Capital upgraded Apple's rating from 'Hold' to 'Buy'. It set a price target of $315. Loop Capital said, "iPhone demand trends are improving, and iPhone shipments could continue to expand through the end of 2027." Buoyed by praise from the brokerage, Apple closed at $262.24, up 3.94% from the previous close. It is a closing record high.

Amazon, which caused inconvenience to online users worldwide due to a service outage of its cloud service Amazon Web Services (AWS) the previous day, showed solid performance as its stock rose 1.61%.

Oracle fell nearly 5% again on the day. After Oracle announced revenue outlooks for its artificial intelligence (AI) business last week, analyses poured in calling them overly optimistic and exaggerated. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, composed of AI and semiconductor industries, also rose and closed at 6,885.03 (1.58%). It is a record high.

Concerns about regional banks eased, and related stocks recovered. Zions Bancorp rebounded 4.65%, and Western Alliance Bancorp rebounded 4.03%. Netflix rose 3.27% on hopes ahead of this week's earnings report. U.S. steel producer Cleveland-Cliffs surged 21% after saying it could participate in rare-earth production.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, the federal funds futures market reflects a 96.3% probability of a 50bp rate cut by December (1bp = 0.01 percentage point). The probability of a 75bp cut is reflected at 2.6%, slightly down from the previous day.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was 18.23, down 2.55 points (12.27%) from the previous session.

Reporter Jin Young-gi, Hankyung.com young71@hankyung.com