Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 01, 2025, in New York City. <\/p>\n
Spencer Platt | Getty Images<\/p>\n
Stocks rose to record highs Friday as Wall Street headed for solid weekly gains even with a U.S. government shutdown dragging on.<\/p>\n
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/a> traded higher by 512 points, or 1.1%. The S&P 500<\/a> advanced 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite<\/a> inched up 0.3%. The small-cap Russell 2000<\/a> popped 1.5%. All four benchmarks hit all-time highs.<\/p>\n With Friday’s gains, the three leading indexes are pacing for a positive weekly finish. The broad market S&P 500 has risen more than 1% week to date, along with the 30-stock Dow, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up nearly 2% in the period. The Russell has jumped 2.5%.<\/p>\n The government shutdown entered its third day Friday, and while it has exacerbated underlying concerns this year about macroeconomic and policy headwinds, inflation risks and a slowing labor market, investors expect it to be short-lived, thereby limiting potential hits to the U.S. economy. Those on Wall Street also believe that the shutdown won’t stop the momentum in the artificial intelligence trade. Shutdowns have not been market-moving events in the past.<\/p>\n The shutdown has led to an economic data blackout, and the Labor Department’s pause on virtually all activity has blocked the Friday release of the September nonfarm payrolls report<\/a>. While that removes a factor<\/a> that could lend pressure to stocks, it lessens the amount of economic data the Federal Reserve can factor into its interest rate decision at its October meeting. Markets largely expect the central bank will lower rates by a quarter percentage point then, per the CME FedWatch tool<\/a>.<\/p>\n Adding to ongoing concerns regarding the jobs market, President Donald Trump has threatened massive layoffs and said Thursday that the Democrats have given him an “unprecedented opportunity<\/a>” to cut federal agencies. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also told CNBC<\/a>\u00a0Thursday that the current lapse in federal funding could lead to “a hit to the GDP, a hit to growth and a hit to working America.” The Congressional Budget Office estimates 750,000 federal workers will be furloughed each day<\/a>.<\/p>\n