- The U.S. government shutdown has halted federal economic data collection, leaving investors without official employment or inflation figures. Despite flying blind, markets remain upbeat as stocks near record highs. Gold fell sharply. And Q3 earnings estimates look strong, boosted by AI investment.
S&P 500 futures were up marginally this morning after the index closed flat yesterday, near its all-time high. Markets in both Europe and Asia were up or flat this morning, too. Gold, the traditional safe-haven asset which has gained 55% year to date, lost 5.3% yesterday—its biggest decline in five years.
