Review Preview: Shutdown Hopes Fuel Stocks

Nov 10, 2025 19:55:00 -0500 by Teresa Rivas | #Markets #Review & Preview

Reopening Rally. Stocks started the week on a high note amid hopes that the longest government shutdown in American history may be nearing a close.

An initial agreement to fund the government through January advanced through the upper chamber of Congress after seven Democratic senators and independent Angus King of Maine joined with Republicans Sunday evening. A vote on the deal could pass in the House of Representatives by Wednesday or Thursday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 382 points, or 0.8%, while the S&P 500 added 1.5% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.3%.

“We have been describing the negotiations over the last week as ‘the beginning of the end’ for the shutdown,” notes Raymond James Washington Policy Analyst Ed Mills. “We are now in the ‘middle of the end.’ Our base case is the government will reopen this week, likely with a short-term continuing resolution and agreement to have a vote (not a commitment to extend) the ACA enhanced premium tax credits (ePTCs).”

He notes that two other ideas floated by President Donald Trump —50-year mortgages and a $2,000 tariff-funded stimulus checks—“are possible,” but unlikely near term.

Still, it was enough to cheer Wall Street. Even with the shutdown in its 41st day, it hasn’t done real damage (yet), and a coming resolution could keep it that way. As of now, Morningstar’s chief U.S. economist Preston Caldwell is looking for the rate of economic growth to slow sequentially until the second quarter 2026, without slipping into a recession, before a reacceleration of growth in the back half of the year.

An end to the shutdown would also mean the resumption of government data, which could help Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell feel less like he’s driving in a “fog,” as he said recently, and more willing to step on the gas in terms of interest rate cuts.

Over in Corporate America, earnings reports are winding down. With most major third-quarter results in and the federal government nearing a reopening “investors can begin to focus on what is in front of them: around $250bn of business and consumer tax cuts and the Fed easing financial conditions through rate cuts and no more balance sheet contraction,” writes Westwood CIO of Multi-Asset Strategies Adrian Helfert.

Company

Last

Chg

Chg%

Dow Jones Industrial Average

48,303.33

375.37

0.78%

S&P 500 Index

6,849.76

3.15

0.05%

NASDAQ Composite Index

23,378.60

-89.70

-0.38%

Market Data as of

The Hot Stock: Palantir Technologies +8.8%
The Biggest Loser: Centene -8.8%

Best Sector: Technology +2.6%
Worst Sector: Consumer Staples -0.4%

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Monday, Nov. 10Index performanceSource: FactSetAs of Nov. 12, 4 p.m. ET

Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Nov. 12-1.00-0.75-0.50-0.2500.250.500.751.001.25%Dow industrialsS&P 500Nasdaq Composite

Golden Days

Some of the shine finally started to come off gold recently, but it’s too soon to say that the precious metal’s incredible 2025 run is done. While tech stocks and other risk-on assets rose Monday on hopes for an end to the government shutdown, they weren’t alone: The price of gold rose along with stocks yet again Monday, putting it up more than 56% this year alone.

That’s because plenty of catalysts that helped push gold higher remain intact, like the decline in real yields and the weak dollar.

It perhaps says something about the price of buying stocks near record highs that gold looks like a bargain, but, as my colleague Paul LaMonica notes, gold is benefiting from a broadening of its investor base, as more people shift away from equities, bonds, and the dollar. Ditto for central banks.

The upshot is that it may not be a smooth ride, but it seems likely that October was little more than a speed bump. More from his report here:

Yes, gold will likely continue to be volatile in the near term. Austin Pickle, an investment strategy analyst with the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said in a report Monday that “gold was historically stretched” and that “the most recent pullback has been a much needed and healthy consolidation.” He conceded that it could take some time for some of the excesses in the market to be wrung out and that gold could be choppy over the next few months.

But it looks like conditions are in place to push it on toward the next milestone of $5,000 an ounce before long.

This year has brought plenty of ups and downs, from the tariff roller coaster to AI upheaval, and even Kentucky Fried toothpaste. Gold has been one of the few constants, and it’s hard to blame investors for wanting a little more of that.

The Calendar

Bond markets are closed in observance of Veterans Day tomorrow. Equities markets are open for regular hours.

Oklo, Sea Limited, and Alcon report quarterly results.

What We’re Reading Today

***Barron’s Live returns on Monday.*Barron’s Live features timely and actionable insights for investors. We give you behind-the-scenes conversations with the newsroom, connecting you with our editors and reporters covering the markets, the economy, and more.