Markets clawed back from early weakness on Tuesday as rotation away from technology was balanced by strength in health care, energy, and consumer staples. 

The Dow surged more than 500 points to another record close, while the S&P 500 added modest gains and the Nasdaq ended slightly lower after a volatile session. 

Healthcare led with record highs in Eli Lilly and solid moves in Johnson & Johnson and Amgen. Energy shares caught a bid as oil climbed above $61 a barrel, helped by tighter supply after a Lukoil production halt in Iraq. 

Technology lagged again, weighed down by weakness in semiconductor and AI-linked names following SoftBank’s disclosure that it sold its entire Nvidia stake for roughly $5.8 billion. AI infrastructure stocks also remained heavy after CoreWeave and Nimbus Cloud cut outlooks and delayed data center projects.

Investors remain focused on Washington, where the House is expected to pass the Senate-approved spending bill that would end the 43-day government shutdown. 

Once signed, it would mark the reopening of federal agencies and the long-awaited return of key economic data. 

Analysts at Goldman Sachs expect the Bureau of Labor Statistics to release an updated schedule early next week, with delayed September payroll and inflation reports likely to follow soon after. 

Despite the data freeze, markets have held firm, supported by stronger-than-expected earnings from 81 percent of S&P 500 companies and broad-based revenue growth across sectors.

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Equity futures are modestly higher in early trading as investors position for the shutdown’s formal end and the restart of government data releases. 

Dow futures are up 0.2 percent, S&P 500 futures 0.3 percent, and Nasdaq futures 0.6 percent, with Nvidia and AMD both up over 1 percent premarket. AMD is extending gains after its upbeat guidance at yesterday’s analyst day, while Nvidia is rebounding from Tuesday’s drop. 

Traders will also be watching for earnings from Cisco after the close, along with comments from multiple Fed speakers including Williams, Bostic, and Waller.

Bond yields are slightly lower as the 10-year Treasury hovers near 4.09 percent, while gold holds above $4,100 an ounce. Oil is holding near $61 per barrel after the International Energy Agency’s latest report revived its Current Policies Scenario, projecting that global oil and gas demand will continue to rise through 2050 if current regulations remain in place.

Markets will be watching whether the relief rally broadens beyond large caps as small-cap indexes and cyclicals start to attract flows. 

Overseas, European stocks are at record highs and Asian markets traded mixed, with the Nikkei lifted by record closes in the Topix and energy exporters.

India’s October inflation cooled to 0.25 percent, well below estimates, reinforcing expectations for further easing by the Reserve Bank of India after its 50-basis-point rate cut in June. The news helped push regional equities higher and supported the rupee after recent tariff-related headwinds. 

In the UK, the pound weakened for a second session on political jitters and a softer labor market report showing rising unemployment and slower wage growth. Markets now assign a 75 percent probability of a Bank of England rate cut next month. 

In the U.S., attention turns to the Fed’s data catch-up window once the government reopens, with Goldman and other forecasters expecting a soft October jobs print that could strengthen the case for another rate cut in December.

Tensions rose in the Caribbean after the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group arrived off the coast of Venezuela, signaling increased U.S. pressure on President Nicolás Maduro. The Pentagon says the deployment is intended to disrupt narcotics trafficking, though the carrier group’s strike capability suggests a broader show of force. 

In Ukraine, Russian forces tightened their hold around the city of Pokrovsk, underscoring the limits of current peace negotiations and President Putin’s broader push for political influence over Kyiv. 

Meanwhile, India’s markets regulator announced plans to simplify foreign investor registration and ease short-selling rules to attract new capital inflows, deferring plans for same-day settlement after feedback from global funds.

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All eyes are on the House today as lawmakers prepare to vote on the funding bill that would formally reopen the federal government after six weeks of paralysis. 

The White House is also drawing attention for its push to limit the influence of proxy advisers such as ISS and Glass Lewis and to curb index-fund voting power among firms like BlackRock and Vanguard. 

In a separate move, President Trump floated the idea of $2,000 “tariff dividend” payments to Americans, a plan analysts say could cost up to $600 billion and significantly widen the deficit. 

Later tonight, Trump is scheduled to host a private dinner at the White House with several top Wall Street executives, including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, to discuss capital markets policy and domestic supply chain investment.

Fed Speakers: Williams, Paulson, Waller, Bostic, Miran

CSCO, TDG, CPRT

Asia: Nikkei +0.43%, Shanghai -0.07%
Europe: FTSE -0.12%, DAX +1.04%

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Wednesday opens with a tone of cautious optimism as traders look to confirm the formal end of the government shutdown and assess whether the Dow’s record-setting rally can extend into a fourth straight session. 

Futures suggest a firmer open led by semiconductors and value stocks, while bond yields remain stable near 4.1 percent. Investors will be watching speeches from a full slate of Federal Reserve officials for clues on the December rate path and parsing early readthroughs from high-frequency job data in anticipation of delayed official releases. 

Earnings from Cisco after the bell will provide a gauge of enterprise tech spending, and attention is turning to next week’s data rebound, when the first wave of withheld reports could reset market expectations for both inflation and growth into year-end.