Wall Street indices moved in different directions, with the Dow Jones gaining while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped into the red on Wednesday amid hopes the the longest-running US government shutdown is nearing an end.
The House of Representatives appeared likely to vote on Wednesday on a spending bill to solve the budget standoff, after eight Democrats broke ranks in the Senate on Monday.
As of 11:30 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 dipped 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.5%.
As of 9:50 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 rose 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.3% lower.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.07% from 4.13% late on Monday.
Key Stock Movers
Technology equities were buoyant, buoyed by optimistic forecasts from chipmakers. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) registered a noticeable climb after its Chief Executive stated the firm expected annual compounded growth in revenue to exceed 35% over the forthcoming three to five years. AMD stock rallied 9.6%.
Nvidia, the dominant designer and producer of Artificial Intelligence (AI) chips, rose 0.41%.
IBM shares rose 3.2% after the company announced progress in bringing truly useful quantum computing to the world.
On Holdings stock soared 25% after the shoe and apparel company reported a stronger quarterly profit than expected.
Bullion Market
Gold prices edged up on Wednesday, ahead of a US. House of Representatives vote to reopen the government.
As of 09:41 AM (1158 GMT), spot gold was up 0.3% at $4,137.95 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.7% to $4,143.30 per ounce.
Among other metals, spot silver gained 1.8% to $52.16 per ounce, platinum rose 0.3% to $1,589.18 and palladium was up 0.1% to $1,445.70.
Crude Oil
Oil prices dropped on Wednesday, weighed down by oversupply concerns as OPEC said global oil supply will match demand in 2026.
At 1417 GMT, Brent crude futures slipped $1.35, or 2%, to $63.81 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.36, or 2.2%, at $59.68 a barrel.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said that world oil supply would match demand next year due to the wider OPEC group’s production increases – a shift from its earlier projections of a supply deficit in 2026.
