[New York Stock Exchange] Dow Hits All-Time High on Shutdown End Hopes... Nasdaq Falls Despite AMD's 9% Surge

House to Vote on Temporary Spending Bill at 7 p.m.
Shutdown Nears End After 43 Days
Monetary Policy Uncertainty Eases as Inflation and Employment Data Expected to Resume
AMD Jumps 9% as Lisa Su Dismisses "AI Bubble" Concerns
Other Tech Stocks

The three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed mixed on November 12 (local time). Optimism over the potential end of the federal government shutdown supported investor sentiment, leading the Dow Jones Industrial Average to reach an all-time high. Amid ongoing concerns about technology stock valuations, there was a pronounced rotation of funds into large-cap value stocks.

Traders are working on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in the United States. Photo by UPI Yonhap News

On this day at the New York Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 326.86 points (0.68%) from the previous trading day to close at 48,254.82, marking a record high. The S&P 500 Index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, gained 4.31 points (0.06%) to finish at 6,850.92. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index fell by 61.844 points (0.26%) to end at 23,406.457.

Investors' attention was focused on whether the federal government shutdown would end. Steve Scalise, House Republican Majority Leader, stated in an interview with CNBC that a vote on a temporary budget bill to end the shutdown was "scheduled to take place around 7 p.m." He added, "The process will begin around 4 to 5 p.m., and the government budget vote will take place a bit later."

Previously, the Senate passed a temporary budget bill for the 2026 fiscal year on November 10, taking the first step toward ending the shutdown. Now, only a House vote and President Donald Trump's signature remain. With the Republican Party holding a majority in the House, the budget bill is expected to pass without difficulty. As a result, there is a high likelihood that the shutdown, which has lasted for a record 43 days in U.S. history, will come to an end.

Once the shutdown ends, the release of inflation and employment-related data, which had been delayed, is expected to resume. This would also ease the burden on the Federal Reserve, which would otherwise have to decide on the benchmark interest rate at next month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting without key economic indicators. The market is relieved by the prospect that uncertainty over monetary policy will be lifted.

Josh Chestnut, public investment portfolio manager at GuideStone Funds, commented, "We are currently experiencing the longest (government) shutdown in history," and added, "Given signs of weakness in the labor market, the release of more economic indicators is certainly welcome."

Seema Shah, strategist at Principal Asset Management, noted, "With the government shutdown delaying the release of key economic indicators, both investors and the Fed are finding it increasingly difficult to assess the economic outlook." She predicted, "Once the release of economic data resumes, the possibility of a Fed rate cut in December will come back into focus, strengthening risk appetite."

However, uncertainty remains. White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stated that, due to the shutdown, key economic indicators for October, such as inflation and employment data, may never be released. She said, "The Democratic Party has caused permanent damage to the federal statistical system, and there is a high likelihood that the October Consumer Price Index (CPI) and employment report will not be released at all," adding, "Federal Reserve policymakers will have to make decisions at a critical time with no information."

Technology stocks, as on the previous day, continued to struggle with valuation concerns, resulting in mixed performance by individual stocks. In contrast, there was continued rotation into value stocks across the broader market.

By sector, financial stocks showed strength. Goldman Sachs jumped 3.54%. JPMorgan rose 1.52%, and American Express gained 0.71%. U.S. heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar also climbed 0.9%.

Among technology stocks, AMD soared 9%. This was driven by comments from CEO Lisa Su the previous day, stating that "artificial intelligence (AI) will drive most of the growth" and that the company's data center chip market could grow to $1 trillion by 2030. Nvidia rose 0.33%, and Broadcom gained 0.93%. In contrast, Palantir and Oracle fell by 3.56% and 3.88%, respectively.

U.S. Treasury yields remained steady. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, the global bond market benchmark, stood at 4.06%, unchanged from the previous day. The 2-year Treasury yield, which is sensitive to monetary policy, fell by 2 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage point) to 3.56% compared to the previous day.