Stock Futures Are Little Changed Amid Shutdown Stalemate

Stocks continued to rally last week despite a federal government shutdown that could disrupt the economy. (NYSE)

Key Points

• Stock futures showed minimal change on Sunday night, with Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite futures all up 0.1%.
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.1% last week, reaching a new record of 46,758, marking its eleventh record close of 2025.
• The S&P 500 closed up 1.1% last week at 6716, its 31st record close this year, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.3% to 22,781.

Stock futures were little changed on Sunday night, ahead of a new week of trading amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 52 points, or 0.1%; S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%; and Nasdaq Composite futures were up 0.1%.

Oil prices were up about 1% after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies announced they would boost production by 137,000 barrels a day in November. Bitcoin’s price reached a new record on Sunday, briefly rising to over $125,000 before edging lower to around $123,000 in the late afternoon, according to CoinDesk.

Stocks hit new record highs last week despite the government shutdown and stalemate in Congress over how to resolve it. House Speaker Mike Johnson has designated this week as a “district work period,” meaning that House members won’t be on Capitol Hill.

The Louisiana Republican urged the Senate to end the shutdown, telling NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that “We need them to turn the lights back on so that everyone can do their work.”

Democrats want an extension to subsidies for Affordable Care Act healthcare plans to be attached to any temporary funding bill that would do just that, but Republicans say they can address the subsidies, which expire at the end of the year, after they address the more pressing need to reopen the government.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told NBC in a separate interview that Democrats can’t afford to wait until later to discuss the about-to-expire subsidies, because tens of millions of Americans covered by health insurance under the ACA could see their premiums spike.

Meanwhile, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said on CNN’s State of the Union that permanent layoffs of federal employees could start if the situation isn’t resolved. “If the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere, then there will start to be layoffs,” he said.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are currently furloughed.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average last week closed up 511 points, or 1.1%, at 46,758, a new record close and its 11th record close of 2025, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Dow is up 9.9% this year.

The S&P 500 last week closed up 1.1%, at 6716, also a record close and its 31st record close this year. The S&P 500 is up 14.2% so far this year.

The Nasdaq Composite closed up 1.3%, at 22,781, its third highest close in history. The Nasdaq is up nearly 18% this year.

Write to Janet H. Cho at janet.cho@dowjones.com