Wall Street ends higher with tech support offsetting labor, shutdown uncertainties

The Nasdaq marked a record closing high on Thursday with support from the technology sector while the benchmark S&P 500 barely managed to notch a record close as investors cautiously monitored private labor market data in the second day of a U.S. government shutdown.

The benchmark index’s valuation was around its highest level since 2020, with help from heavyweight technology companies including AI chip leader Nvidia and Broadcom.

With no official government data available because of the shutdown, investors were monitoring information from other sources. A report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said U.S. employers announced fewer layoffs in September but that hiring plans so far this year were the lowest since 2009. It followed the previous day’s weaker-than-expected ADP National Employment Report.

“The market is looking at all of that against the backdrop of what was already weak job data in recent months to try to gauge the real path forward for the labor market from here,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors.

While the shutdown was not a shock and investors have been soothed by the knowledge that such closures have typically not hurt the market in the past, Baird noted that it still caused worries.

“Given how polarized the two (political) parties are right now, and both seem to be staking out their respective positions, it wouldn’t be surprising if this one drags out a little bit longer,” he said.

Meanwhile, it did not help that Tesla went into reverse. The electric vehicle maker gave up initial gains after a strong quarterly deliveries report, as some analysts flagged risks to sales in the upcoming quarters due to the withdrawal of the $7,500 federal tax credit.

Earlier in the session, the S&P and the Nasdaq indexes hit intraday record highs. The S&P 500’s forward price-to-earnings ratio has climbed to 23.1.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 4.38 points, or 0.07%, to end at 6,715.58 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 89.29 points, or 0.39%, to 22,844.44. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.21 points, or 0.18%, to 46,523.31.

The tech sector was the biggest boost to the S&P 500 with a lot of help from chip stocks with the broader semiconductor index also hit a record high on Thursday.

Consumer discretionary, while not the biggest percentage lower, was a big drag on the S&P 500 due to Tesla’s selloff.

Shares of credit bureaus Equifax and TransUnion fell sharply, after FICO launched a program that could allow mortgage lenders to gain access to credit scores without relying on the bureaus. FICO shares surged after the news .

Occidental Petroleum said it would sell its petrochemical division to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway for $9.7 billion, sending shares of the oil and gas producer lower.

The dollar index was last up 0.13% on the day at 97.86. The euro fell 0.09% to $1.1719.

Traders see a 25-basis-point cut at the Fed’s October meeting as almost certain and are pricing in a 90% probability of an additional cut in December, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.