Wall Street's main indexes were mixed Wednesday, with the Dow notching a record high close and the Nasdaq losing ground as investors rotated out of pricey technology stocks while focusing on a likely end to a historic U.S. government shutdown.
The House of Representatives was set to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, with a vote on a stopgap funding package to restart disrupted food assistance, pay hundreds of thousands of federal workers and revive a hobbled air traffic control system.
Still, President Donald Trump will have to sign the compromise into law.
"That should be positive from a sentiment standpoint, removing one of the key risks that's out there. As well, the proper functioning of the federal government and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and airline system is important to the operation of the real economy," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, in Billings, Montana.
Gains in shares of Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth Group lifted the Dow to its second straight record high close. The index is up about 14% in 2025, lagging a rise of about 17% in the S&P 500.
Some of Wall Street's tech-related heavyweights lost ground, including Amazon, Tesla and Palantir. AMD rallied after the chip designer unveiled a $100 billion data-center revenue target.
"We have seen somewhat of a rotation away from Nasdaq-heavy leadership toward other areas of the market doing pretty well, like healthcare and financials," said Matt Stucky, chief equity portfolio manager at Northwestern Mutual.
"A critical component for seeing markets broaden out is having earnings broaden out as well." SoftBank Group's $5.8 billion sale of its Nvidia stake jolted stock markets on Tuesday, stoking fears that the frenzy around artificial intelligence may have peaked, especially after recent warnings from Wall Street bank chiefs and a famed short seller. Nvidia's quarterly report next Wednesday will be a key test of investor sentiment around AI.
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 4.45 points, or 0.08%, to end at 6,852.03 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 57.82 points, or 0.25%, to 23,410.48. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 327.72 points, or 0.69%, to 48,259.75.
SHUTDOWN WEIGHS ON ECONOMY
The government shutdown has weighed on the economy and created a data gap for both the Federal Reserve and traders, leaving them reliant on private economic indicators.
Tuesday's weekly update of ADP's preliminary payroll figures showed private employers shedding an average of 11,250 jobs a week for the four weeks ended October 25, pointing to continued weakness in the labor market.
Traders are pricing in a 65% probability of a quarter-point reduction at December's monetary policy meeting, CME Group's FedWatch tool showed.
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he would retire when his term ends in February, amid concerns of a push by Trump for more influence over the Fed.