U.S. stock futures climbed early Friday as renewed enthusiasm for the AI sector appeared to outweigh concerns surrounding the ongoing U.S. government shutdown. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up 0.27%, 0.25%, and 0.20%, respectively, at 5:00 a.m. EST on October 3.
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During Thursday’s regular trading session, all three major indexes closed at record highs, marking their fifth consecutive day of gains. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new intraday peaks as well, led by gains in AI stocks. The Nasdaq rose by 0.39%, the Dow increased by 0.17%, and the S&P 500 gained 0.06% overall.
OpenAI’s recent share sale, which valued the company at $500 billion, sparked renewed interest and enthusiasm in AI/tech stocks. Nvidia (NVDA) rose 0.9%, pushing the chip giant to a fresh 52-week high, while peers AMD (AMD) and Intel (INTC) each rose more than 3%.
The government shutdown, now in its third day, has increased worries about inflation and a slower job market. Investors are waiting to see how long it lasts to know its full impact. Usually, shutdowns cause little lasting harm to the economy unless they go on for a long time, with little effect on the stock markets.
However, the shutdown has forced the Labor Department to pause most activity, stalling the release of the key September nonfarm payrolls report, due today. This removes a crucial data point that the Federal Reserve would factor into its October interest rate decision, scheduled on October 28-29.
Despite the uncertainty, all three indexes are on track to finish the week in positive territory. The S&P 500 is up nearly 1.1% so far, the Dow has gained 0.6%, and the Nasdaq has advanced 1.6%.
There are no major earnings releases scheduled for today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was up, floating near 4.10%. WTI crude oil futures were trending higher, hovering near $61.02 per barrel as of the last check. Additionally, the Gold Spot U.S. dollar price increased to nearly $3,885 per ounce on Friday.
Elsewhere, European stocks opened higher on October 3, extending gains from the previous session as traders monitored developments in Washington.
Asia-Pacific Markets Traded Mixed Today
Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday, with Chinese markets remaining closed due to the week-long National Day holiday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.54%. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei advanced 1.85%, and the Topix gained 1.35%, led by gains in Hitachi’s (JP:6501) shares. The Japanese conglomerate announced a strategic partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to build AI infrastructure and data centers globally.
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