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The Dow Jones Industrial Average notched its first record close above 48,000 on Wednesday, extending its gains from the previous session, as Wall Street looked ahead to a potential end to the record-breaking U.S. government shutdown.
The 30-stock Dow closed up 326.86 points, or 0.68%, at 48,254.82, and hit a fresh intraday high in the session. The S&P 500 traded around the flatline, settling up 0.06% at 6,850.92, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.26% to finish at 23,406.46.
Investors are keeping an eye on Washington, as the federal government could reopen as soon as the end of this week. The Senate on Monday evening passed a spending bill that has since moved to the House of Representatives for a final vote. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told CNBC Wednesday that he expects the chamber to vote on the bill around 7 p.m. ET.
“We’re in currently the longest closure in history,” said Josh Chastant, portfolio manager of public investments at GuideStone Funds, adding that “it certainly would be welcome to start seeing” more economic data releases given signs of weakness in the labor market. “Right now, the focus is on getting over now, and then once ultimately the terms have been decided for reopening, then maybe there’s something to worry about as we think about the extension into January.”
As investors prepare for an end to the ongoing shutdown, which has now entered its 43rd day, the latest moves in the market are reflecting a “kind of a bifurcated day,” Chastant said, noting that investors’ reopening hopes can be seen in the day’s run-up in key financial names.
The Dow’s outperformance was supported by those in that sector such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and American Express. All three stocks had notched fresh records during the day. Other stocks whose fortunes are closely linked to the economy like Caterpillar also gained.
Bank shares across the broader market joined Goldman, JPMorgan and American Express in seeing a boost. Alongside those names, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo and Bank of America scored new highs. The Financial Select SPDR Fund (XLF), which tracks the S&P 500 financials sector, climbed 1%.
Beyond the financials, the artificial intelligence trade continued its string of volatility seen this month, as uneasy sentiment remains among investors that tech valuations could be stretched after their recent surge. Advanced Micro Devices shares popped 8%, but others like Oracle and Palantir Technologies were lower.
“There’s real demand and use case for AI,” Chastant told CNBC. “Earnings again have been pretty strong for technology companies, so we’re not super concerned that it’s a bubble at this point, just that things are richly valued.”
“There’s nothing wrong, in our view, of kind of trimming back, taking some gains and re-diversifying across other spots in the equity markets,” he continued.
A tale of two markets emerged on Tuesday, when the Dow rallied more than 550 points, and the Nasdaq slipped. The health care sector was the top-performing sector, driven by advances in names such as Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, as investors moved into parts of the market with lower valuations.
Flight cancellations hit lowest rate in almost a week as shutdown nears end
Flight cancellations eased across the U.S. on Wednesday ahead of a House vote on a funding bill that could end the longest federal government shutdown in history.
House lawmakers could vote around 7 p.m. ET on the bill, which was passed by the Senate earlier this week. The shutdown again put air travel in the spotlight and heightened strains on air traffic controllers, who have been required to work without receiving their regularly scheduled paychecks.
On Wednesday, 811 U.S. departures were canceled, 3.5% of airlines’ schedule, the lowest rate since last Thursday, according to aviation-data firm Cirium. Read more.
— Leslie Josephs
AMD shares lead S&P 500 as Wall Street applauds outlook
Mateusz Slodkowski | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Advanced Micro Devices is the best-performing S&P 500 stock in Wednesday’s trading as Wall Street shows its satisfaction with the company’s analyst day.
The company shared its outlook for earnings and the total addressable market around the total addressable market for artificial intelligence data center parts and systems. AMD shares jumped more than 7% in afternoon trading.
“Overall, we are very pleased with the presented roadmap, and are optimistic on the company’s outlook,” said Harsh Kumar, senior analyst at Piper Sandler, in a note to clients.
CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to read more about how Wall Street is reacting.
— Alex Harring
October jobs and inflation data might never be released, White House says
Key economic reports for October may not be released at all because of the government shutdown, a senior White House official said Wednesday.
With the spending impasse appearing to be near an end, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that part of the fallout could be lasting damage to the government’s data collection ability.
“The Democrats may have permanently damaged the Federal Statistical system with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released,” Leavitt said. “All of that economic data released will be permanently impaired, leaving our policymakers at the Fed, flying blind at a critical period.” Read more.
— Jeff Cox
34 stocks in the S&P 500 trade at new 52-week highs
On Wednesday, 34 stocks in the S&P 500 traded at new 52-week highs.
Tickers that hit this milestone included:
- Alphabet A share trading all-time highs back to its IPO on Aug. 19, 2004
- Expedia trading at all-time high levels back to its spin-off from IAC in 2005
- General Motors trading at all-time highs back to the “new” GM IPO in November 2010
- Ralph Lauren trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in June 1997
- Goldman Sachs trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in May 1999
- JPMorgan trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1983
- Johnson & Johnson trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO on the NYSE in 1944
- Eli Lilly trading at all-time high levels back to 1952 when the company offered its first public shares of stock
- CrowdStrike trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in June 2019
- International Business Machines trading at all-time highs back to when it began publicly trading on the NYSE in January 1962
On the other hand, just one stock in the benchmark was trading at a new 52-week low: Charter Communications, trading at lows not seen since March 2016.
— Christopher Hayes, Lisa Kailai Han
Beyond Meat has a new price target of $1, Barclays says
Beyond Meat products are offered for sale at a grocery store on February 29, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.
Scott Olson | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Barclays halved its price target on Beyond Meat to $1, from $2, following disappointing earnings results from the plant-based food company. That represents roughly 18% downside from where the stock closed Tuesday, at $1.22.
“Following another quarter of declines and a muted outlook, we stay UW on BYND with a new price target of $1 (from $2) due to a higher share count,” Benjamin M. Theurer wrote on Wednesday. “Category demand remains weak for plant-based meat with the company continuing to post losses despite cost control efforts.”
Beyond Meat has been under pressure for years, but it has recently attracted new interest after its inclusion in a popular thematic ETF for meme stocks. Regardless, it is still down more than 69% this year, and more than 30% this month.
Beyond Meat, 1-day performance
— Sarah Min
Stocks making big moves midday
- Alkermes — The biotech company dropped 9% as traders weighed phase 2 trial results for its ALKS 2680 drug, which aims to treat narcolepsy. While the company will be advancing the drug to a Phase 3 trial, a higher range of doses or a split dosing regimen may be required to achieve effectiveness in some patients.
- Bank stocks — The group fell broadly as Treasury yields declined, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average to all-time highs. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase rose 3.8% and 1%, respectively. The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) climbed 1%.
- RXO — Shares popped 6%, adding to Tuesday’s 5.7%. The stock jumped in the previous session following a Morgan Stanley upgrade to overweight from equal weight. Wednesday’s move put the freight carrier on pace for its best day in more than a month.
- GlobalFoundries — Shares fell over 3% despite higher-than-expected earnings in the third quarter. The semiconductor manufacturer posted earnings of 41 cents per share, excluding certain items, on revenue of $1.69 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet anticipated a profit of 38 cents per share on revenue of $1.68 billion.
Read more here.
— Fred Imbert
Raymond James downgrades Bath and Body Works, removes price target
The Bath and Body Works logo is seen on the outside of its store at the Lycoming Crossing Shopping Center.
Paul Weaver | Lightrocket | Getty Images
A gradual brand refresh and seasonal product launches at Bath and Body Works are not enough to move the needle for the stock, according to Raymond James.
The bank downgraded the stock to market perform from outperform and removed its price target of $37. Bath and Body Works on Tuesday closed at $21.96.
Analyst Olivia Tong cited deeper price cuts compared to last year as a sign the personal care retailer is struggling to get holiday launches off its shelves. Macro pressure on Bath and Body Works’ core lower-to-middle-income consumer “remains value-oriented and promotion sensitive,” curbing margins, Tong wrote.
“While we believe there is low-hanging fruit to improve digital capabilities, product, and distribution, we expect this will take time to take form, and until then, growth will be below long-term potential,” Tong noted.
— Itzel Franco
Financial stocks score new highs
A number of financial stocks hit new 52-week highs on Wednesday.
Among the names in the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), several key stocks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, State Street, Bank of NY Mellon, Bank of America, American Express, Travelers and Loews Corp reached record levels.
With those gains, the XLF was last up around 1%, putting its year-to-date rise at more than 11%.
XLF, year-to-date
— Sean Conlon, Gina Francolla
Atlanta Fed President Bostic to leave position once term expires
Raphael Bostic, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, during a research conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas in Dallas, Texas, US, on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025.
Desiree Rios | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Wednesday he will be leaving his position when his term expires in February.
Bostic has been in his current position since June 2017 and is the first Black and openly gay regional president. His term, which also was marked by issues relating to personal investments he made, runs until Feb. 28.
“I’m proud of what we accomplished during my tenure to turn the lofty goal of an economy that works for everyone into more of a reality, and I look forward to discovering new ways to advance that bold vision in my next chapter,” Bostic said in a statement. Read more.
— Jeff Cox
Fed’s Williams sees bond purchases resuming soon
New York Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams speaks to Economic Club of New York, in New York City, U.S., May 30, 2024.
Andrew Kelly | Reuters
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said Wednesday that the central bank soon could restart its normal bond purchases as the high levels of pandemic-era liquidity drain from the system.
In a speech delivered for a conference at the regional bank, Williams noted that the Fed soon will end “QT,” or the process of quantitative tightening that is shrinking the size of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities it owns. From there, the Fed will determine when it reaches a level of “ample” reserves that will signal the next phase for balance sheet management.
“It will then be time to begin the process of gradual purchases of assets that will maintain an ample level of reserves as the Fed’s other liabilities grow and underlying demand for reserves increases over time,” he said. Williams stressed that this is “the next natural stage” for the Fed’s strategy and will not represent a change in monetary policy.
The current process has seen the Fed lop off about $2.3 trillion in bond holdings, putting the current balance sheet level around $6.6 trillion.
Williams did not discuss his expectations for future interest rate moves.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks open higher Wednesday
Stocks traded into the green on Wednesday morning.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each rose 0.2% shortly after the opening bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 252 points, or 0.5%.
— Sean Conlon
Advanced Micro Devices, Clearwater Analytics, On Holding among the stocks making the biggest premarket moves
On’s stock rises after company hikes guidance
A model of shoe is displayed in a shop of Swiss shoemaker On in Zurich, Switzerland, Aug. 28, 2025.
Denis Balibouse | Reuters
On raised its full-year guidance for the third quarter in a row on Wednesday after the Swiss sportswear company posted another three months of double-digit growth, bucking a slowdown in the sneaker market.
The company, known for its innovative approach to running shoes, is now expecting fiscal 2025 sales to reach 2.98 billion francs ($3.72 billion), up from its previous guidance of 2.91 billion francs, on a reported basis. On a constant currency basis, the company anticipates sales will grow 34% from the prior year, up from its previous forecast of 31%.
The forecast is slightly above the 2.97 billion francs analysts were expecting, according to LSEG.
“Our focus on premium, on full-price sales, on innovation, on that intersection between performance and design is just resonating very strongly with the consumer, and it’s really setting ourselves apart,” CEO Martin Hoffmann told CNBC in an interview. “You see it in the results. We have strong top line growth, we have a strong margin, so that shows that we stay fully committed to full-price sales, and this is across all our channels.” Read more.
ONON, 1-day
— Gabrielle Fonrouge
AMD shares jump following financial analyst day
Lisa Su, chairwoman and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), delivers the opening keynote speech at Computex 2024, Taiwan’s premier tech expo, in Taipei on June 3, 2024.
I-Hwa Cheng | Afp | Getty Images
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices rose more than 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday, a day after the company’s financial analyst day, where CEO Lisa Su said that she expects strong revenue growth over the next three to five years.
AMD, 1-day
— Sean Conlon
Foxconn reports big jump in earnings
Signage at the former General Motors and Foxconn factory in Lordstown, Ohio, US, on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025.
Kyle Grillot | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Foxconn, a key supplier of Nvidia, reported a 17% year-on-year jump in earnings, thanks to growth in its AI server business. Nvidia shares were up more than 1% following the report.
Read more here.
— Fred Imbert
Nuclear power startup Oklo shares down after third-quarter loss widens
Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Oklo shares fell slightly on Tuesday night after its third-quarter loss widened from a year ago, as the nuclear power startup works toward getting regulatory approval for its technology.
The company reported a loss of 20 cents per share, wider than analysts’ expectations of a 13 cents per share loss, according to LSEG. Shares of Oklo, which has not generated revenue, have rallied about 390% this year.
The company expects its first commercial Aurora advanced fission plant to be deployed in 2027, and is working on developing clean energy to be used at AI infrastructure facilities.
“We’re focused on producing one of the most important and valuable commodities that exist today that is also pretty significantly undersupplied in the country, which is power. And I think that’s a huge opportunity space for us to be building into … abundant large scale energy supplies are going to be worth a lot for enabling all the things that we’re wanting to do as a country,” Oklo co-founder and Chief Executive Jacob DeWitte told CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday evening.
— Pia Singh