Overview

• The S&P 500 rose 0.58% and the Nasdaq gained 1.12% to close at record highs, while the Dow ended essentially unchanged.
• Fed minutes showed about half of policymakers expect at least two more cuts this year, with futures pricing roughly a 95% chance of another cut at the next meeting.
• Chipmakers led gains, with AMD surging about 11% after Nvidia’s Jensen Huang praised AMD’s OpenAI deal, which drew positive notes from UBS and a Loop Capital target hike to $240.
• The partial federal shutdown reached its eighth day, delaying key economic releases and narrowing the flow of official data.
• Safe-haven flows lifted gold above $4,000 an ounce to record levels, while MBA data showed mortgage applications fell 4.7% last week.