Stocks edged up to new record highs on Thursday as the U.S. government shutdown appeared poised to stretch into its third day.
The S&P 500 moved up a slight 0.06 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79 points, or 017 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4 percent.
Bond prices rose, pushing down yields. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell 0.019 percent to 4.087 percent and the yield on 30-year Treasuries dipped 0.022 percent to 4.693 percent. Two years were flat.
Investors are increasingly convinced the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next two meetings, in October and December. The odds of a third cut in December implied by the fed funds futures market stand near 90 percent, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. A week ago it the odds of a third cut in December were just 60.5 percent.
The gains were concentrated in the materials, information technology, communications, and industrials sectors, according to Fidelity. The financial, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate, health care, energy, and real estate all declined.
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