Happy first day of the fourth quarter (for those who celebrate). We're following a surprising, unseasonably strong third quarter in U.S. equities with the time of year that investors have historically leaned on to bring home the returns.
Only there's a quirk: For a period of time, investors, economists and analysts will be flying blind. On Wednesday morning the U.S. government shut down for the first time since 2019. As a result, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will not operate as it usually does. That means that the release of certain BLS reports will be delayed.
We have no idea how long the government shutdown will go on, but with most congressional Republicans taking their leave from DC, it's looking as if it might be awhile. And that could be a problem for the Federal Reserve, which has its next policy meeting toward the end of the month. There, it was widely expected to cut interest rates again. But now, it'll have only private-sector data to rely on.
Wednesday Reading:.
And that's not the only quirk of this shutdown. It'll have all the fixings of a typical shutdown, including essential government workers having to clock in without pay. But President Donald Trump has committed to seize on the shutdown to further slash staff and costs within the federal government, with few specifics worked out. If Trump makes good on that promise, it'll be hard to miss the effects on the numbers.
In the meantime, U.S. investors seem unconcerned. After a sluggish start to the day, the Dow (+0.23%) is out in front. The Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%) and S&P 500 (+0.08%) aren't far behind. The Russell 2000 (-0.04%) is struggling a bit for the moment, after leading the key indexes to start the day.
TurboTax Via TheStreet:
-- Noah Weidner, Markets Reporter
