U.S. stock futures were largely flat on Thursday evening after a positive session. Strength in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector seemed to outweigh worries about the two-day-old U.S. government shutdown. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) were down 0.03%, 0.01%, and 0.02%, respectively, at 6:13 p.m. EDT on October 2.
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In the regular trading session, U.S. stocks rose for the fifth day in a row. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all closed at record highs, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 also hitting new intraday peaks. Overall, the Nasdaq, the Dow Jones, and the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, 0.2%, and 0.1%, respectively.
The shutdown has forced the Labor Department to pause most activity, blocking the release of the key September nonfarm payrolls report, due tomorrow. This removes a data point that the Federal Reserve would factor into its October interest rate decision.
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