US stocks end mixed midweek as end to government shutdown in sight

ISTANBUL

US stocks ended mixed Wednesday with an end to the longest-ever government shutdown in sight if the House of Representatives passes a funding bill and President Donald Trump signs it into law.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.68%, or 326.86 points, to close at a new record high of 48,254.82, the first time above the 48,000-level.

The S&P 500 edged up 0.063%, or 4.31 points to close at 6,850.92.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq fell 0.26%, or 61.84 points, to end midweek at 23,406.46.

The mixed course followed growing optimism that the longest US government shutdown in history will end soon.

The US Senate passed a bill Monday to finance the federal government until Jan. 30 and end the longest government shutdown in American history. The bill was moved to the House of Representatives after passing 60-40 with support from almost all Republicans and a few Democratic senators.

The House is expected to vote later Wednesday to end the shutdown.

The shutdown has disrupted the flow of economic data, and alternative indicators are being closely monitored by investors, while White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that key economic reports for October, including inflation and jobs data, may not be released because of the government shutdown.

“The Democrats may have permanently damaged the Federal Statistical system, with October CPI and jobs reports likely never being released,” Leavitt said during a press conference at the White House.

Also, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the administration will announce "substantial" tariff reliefs in the coming days to cut the prices of coffee, bananas and other items in the country.

Bessent told Fox News that while "it's tough to do a lot of specific things," the government will make "substantial" announcements regarding "things that we don't grow here in the United States."

Regarding Trump's statement that a $2,000 dividend would be paid per person from revenue generated by tariffs, Bessent noted that this could be paid to those earning less than $100,000 annually but that a decision has not yet been made.

On the corporate side, volatility in artificial intelligence and technology stocks continued. Shares of chip companies Nvidia and AMD, which had been weighing on markets with their losses yesterday, recovered Wednesday.

Nvidia's shares rose slightly after Foxconn, one of its suppliers, reported a profit increase.

AMD's shares surged 9% after the company's CEO Lisa Su stated that the increased spending in the artificial intelligence sector is "the right gamble," giving some relief to tech overvaluation concerns.

However, shares of tech giants Meta fell 3%, Amazon and Tesla dropped 2%, Alphabet declined 1.5% and Apple fell nearly 1%.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court announced that the oral hearing in the case regarding Trump's request to fire Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook will be held on Jan. 21, 2026.