FX.co ★ US Stocks Attempt to Rebound

On Wednesday, the three major U.S. stock indices recovered from early losses to trade either flat or higher. Investors appeared to be looking past concerns about a potential federal government shutdown and instead focused on economic data that supported the expectation of further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year. The healthcare sector emerged as the top performer, with Pfizer shares rising by over 4% following an agreement with the Trump administration. This agreement enables patients to buy prescription drugs at discounted rates through a new federal website. Notably, Moderna saw its shares climb by 8.6%, while Regeneron Pharmaceuticals gained 7.8%. Conversely, the communication services sector lagged, with Meta's shares falling nearly 3%. In terms of economic data, the ADP report revealed an unexpected loss of 32,000 jobs in the U.S. private sector for September, contrary to forecasts predicting a 50,000 job increase, signaling a sharper-than-expected slowdown in the labor market. Additionally, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed the manufacturing sector contracted for the seventh month in a row.