FX.co ★ US Stocks Give Up Most Gains on Trump’s Shutdown Threats

On Thursday, U.S. stocks initially showed promising gains, but by the end of the day, the momentum did not hold. The S&P 500 edged downward by 0.1% after reaching record highs, the Nasdaq remained close to unchanged, and the Dow Jones declined by nearly 150 points. This downturn followed President Trump's escalation of pressure on Democrats to resolve the government shutdown, which began the day prior, by threatening to cut thousands of federal jobs. Weak performances in the healthcare and real estate sectors contrasted with minor advances in technology, mainly bolstered by OpenAI's impressive $6.6 billion stock sale that assessed the company's value at $500 billion, alongside a new partnership with South Korean chipmakers. However, notable tech names like Microsoft and Tesla saw declines of 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively, reversing earlier gains despite Tesla's reported 7.4% year-over-year increase in global vehicle deliveries for the third quarter. This growth was partly fueled by a surge in demand ahead of the expiration of the electric vehicle tax credit at the end of September. In contrast, Nvidia, Broadcom, and AMD registered gains, appreciating by 1.4%, 1.9%, and 2.7%, respectively.