U.S. stocks pushed to new milestones Thursday, with all three major indexes finishing at record levels despite an ongoing government shutdown in Washington.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended at 46,519.72, the S&P 500 at 6,715.35, and the Nasdaq Composite at 22,844.05, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data.
The rally again hinged on investor conviction that artificial intelligence will keep powering earnings through late 2025.
Traders gravitated to fresh headlines around OpenAI’s push to expand infrastructure in Asia, including new partnerships with Samsung and SK tied to its Stargate initiative.
While the details are still coming into focus for public markets, the narrative was enough to keep megacap tech in favor and extend a weeks-long climb in growth shares.
The move came as the federal shutdown entered another day, a backdrop that would normally sap risk appetite and recalls the shutdown threat that pressured markets at the end of the quarter.”
Social Security officials said funding lapsed on October 1 and remains unresolved, a status that can slow parts of the economy and complicate the release of some federal statistics that investors watch closely.
Congressional scorekeepers have also warned that prolonged lapses tend to weigh on growth the longer they last, even if some activity is later made up.
AI-linked capital spending and software demand are visible in company updates and partnerships, even as Washington gridlock risks interrupting data flow that informs the interest-rate outlook.
Without timely readings on the labor market and inflation, the market is leaning harder on corporate guidance and high-frequency indicators to shape expectations for the next Federal Reserve move.
That dynamic favors sectors with clear revenue tailwinds and strong balance sheets, which helps explain why cash continues to find its way back to the largest technology platforms.
Early strength in technology helped the Nasdaq outpace the S&P 500, while the Dow’s late-cycle mix held its own as investors remained reluctant to abandon safer blue chips.
Energy and rate-sensitive pockets traded more unevenly as the policy fog persisted.
Even so, breadth improved compared with the summer, an encouraging sign for those hoping the advance can broaden beyond the AI core.
The risk is that momentum has run ahead of fundamentals if the shutdown drags on or if earnings guidance turns cautious. Corporate America has been clear that multi-year AI spending plans will not be linear.
Delays in government data releases can also raise the odds of policy surprises, which tends to lift volatility.
For now, though, the tape is rewarding companies with direct exposure to model training, data center buildouts, and tools that help enterprises deploy AI at scale.
