Stock market today: S&P 500 ekes gain as hopes for end of shutdown get major boost

Investing.com-- The S&P 500 ended the week lower despite cutting losses Friday, as hopes that the government shutdown could be nearing end were boosted after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed a deal that could re-open the government.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (20:17 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 79 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index added 0.1%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.2%.

Democrats offer deal to end shutdown

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a proposal that could reopen the government "within a few hours" if accepted by Republicans.

The deal appears to offer a compromise on a key sticking point: health care. Schumer said Democrats would be willing to pass a funding bill if Republicans back the deal which one-year one-year extension on healthcare subsidies.

Republicans have previously said they wanted to the health insurance subsidies to be a separate deal rather than path of stop-gap funding bill.

"Now, the ball is in the Republicans’ court. We need Republicans to just say yes," Schumer added.

Consumer sentiment takes hit from ongoing government shutdown

U.S. consumer sentiment in November fell to a lowest since June 2022, while one-year inflation expectations ticked amid worries about the impact on economy from the ongoing government shutdown, which is no in its second month.

A monthly report from the University of Michigan showed that its consumer sentiment index came in at 50.3 in November compared to 53.6 in October. Economists had predicted a reading of 53.

"The record-long government shutdown is causing increasing concern among consumers, whether they or a family member is directly affected by a loss of employment or benefits, or they are generally concerned that the fallout from the shutdown will have a broader negative impact on the economy," Jefferies said in a Friday note.

The update stoked further concerns about the economy just as investors have been mulling recent data showing cracks in the labor market.

Private-sector data filled some of the gap on Thursday. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that U.S. companies announced a 183.1% surge in layoffs in October compared with the prior month -- the steepest monthly jump in decades.

Figures from the Bank of America Institute indicated that while the labor market had not slowed substantially compared to September, there had been a noticeable cooling since the spring.

That said, a separate report from payrolls processor ADP, released earlier in the week, found that the private firms in the U.S. added 42,000 roles last month, bouncing back from a revised loss of 29,000 in September and another dip in August.

"[E]conomic data availability remains limited but we view the data in hand as keeping a December rate cut from the Fed more likely than not," said Morgan Stanley analysts including Michael Gapen and Sam Coffin in a note.

The Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its October policy meeting, in a bid to temper any further softening in the job market. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell flagged that another reduction this year is not a guarantee.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed skepticism over the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, raising doubts about the durability of his trade measures.

Peloton, Affirm shines on earnings stage; Take-Two slumps on GTA VI delay

Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) shares gave up gains even after the vacation rental firm forecast upbeat quarterly revenue after posting higher third-quarter results, aided by strong bookings in markets such as Latin America and Asia Pacific.

Affirm Holdings (NASDAQ:AFRM) shares soared after the buy-now-pay-later provider reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results that significantly exceeded expectations, and raised its full-year guidance.

Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) stock fell after Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of the video game developer, announced a further delay in the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to November 2026 from May 2026, the second delay for the highly anticipated game.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) stock rose despite the gaming company lowering its full-year sales outlook and reported mixed third-quarter results, amid concerns that prediction market services are eating into the sports betting business.

Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ:PTON) stock gained after the fitness company beat quarterly revenue estimates, buoyed by early traction from its revamped product lineup and price hikes across hardware and subscriptions.

Elsewhere, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) shareholders approved a historic compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk, backing a potential payout of up to $1 trillion in stock over the next decade.

The vote, conducted at Tesla’s annual meeting in Austin, Texas, saw over 75% of shares cast in favour of the deal, which hinges on ambitious performance targets including reaching an $8.5 trillion market valuation and deploying robotaxis and humanoid robots.

Peter Nurse, Ayushman Ojha contributed to this article