Wall Street was hit hard on Thursday, with all three major indices sliding as investors digested the end of the record 43-day government shutdown and its uncertain economic fallout.
The Nasdaq Composite led the decline, tumbling 2.5%, while the S&P 500 sank 1.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 800 points, or 1.7%, snapping its two-day record streak as heavy losses in tech and media weighed on sentiment.
Nvidia slumped 4% as investors rotated out of high-growth tech names, while Disney’s 8% slide following lacklustre earnings added pressure on the Dow. Tesla also lost 7% in another bruising session for the so-called Magnificent Seven stocks.
President Trump signed a bill into law late Wednesday to officially end the shutdown after a narrow 222-209 House vote. While the move lifted a political overhang, markets quickly turned their attention to the economic cost. The Congressional Budget Office warned the shutdown could shave around $11 billion off US GDP by 2026.
Uncertainty deepened after the White House admitted that some economic reports delayed by the closure will “never be released,” leaving traders partially blind on key indicators such as inflation and employment. Officials suggested the October jobs data might still appear, but without an unemployment figure.
That patchy data backdrop complicates the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook. Market pricing for a December rate cut has now fallen to roughly 50%, down from near-certainty just a month ago. With growth concerns rising and fresh data scarce, traders are bracing for a rocky few weeks ahead.
