Today's Edition
NEW YORK (AFP)
Wall Street stocks opened mostly higher Monday, extending an upturn despite a possible US government shutdown looming over the market.
The early gains reflect a continuation of Friday's advance following muted inflation data that kept alive the possibility of an October Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
But markets are now contending with the September 30 deadline to avert a government shutdown, depending on talks today between President Donald Trump and congressional leaders.
About 15 minutes into trading, the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 0.3 per cent to 6,665.24, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.7 per cent to 22,648.08.
But the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down less than 0.1 per cent at 46,230.23.
This week's calendar includes monthly jobs data for September, but the report's release on Friday depends on the budget talks.
If there is a shutdown, "we'll be missing a lot of economic data," said B. Riley Wealth Management's Art Hogan. "And we'll have fewer federal employees in a labour market that is already soft to begin with."
Among individual companies, Electronic Arts jumped 5.0 per cent as it announced it will be acquired by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund for $55 billion.
EA, known for popular franchises including FIFA soccer games, Madden NFL, The Sims and Battlefield, reported revenue of $7.5 billion in its most recent fiscal year.
