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Stock Market Today: Nasdaq, Dow Futures Gain On 3rd Day Of Shutdown—Rumble, Riggeti, Kodiak In Focus
U.S. stock futures advanced on Friday following Thursday’s record advances. Futures of major benchmark indices were higher.
Wall Street was unfazed by the shutdown as the AI-led optimism led the markets higher, even as most S&P 500 sectors declined on Thursday, information technology and communication services advanced.
The next opportunity to hold a vote on a government shutdown will be later today, as the chamber was out on Thursday in observance of Yom Kippur.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump once again floated the idea of issuing rebate checks to Americans funded by the hundreds of billions of dollars in tariff revenue imposed by his administration.
When asked about what he intends to do with all this money, Trump said that his priority is paying down the nation's massive debt. He added that “We also might make a distribution to the people," describing the plan as "a dividend to the people of America."
The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.09% and the two-year bond was at 3.55%. The CME Group's FedWatch tool‘s projections show markets pricing a 97.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates in its October meeting.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | 0.24% |
| S&P 500 | 0.25% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 0.26% |
| Russell 2000 | 0.42% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, rose in premarket on Friday. The SPY was up 0.30% at $671.23, while the QQQ advanced 0.32% to $607.69, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
Sectors with the biggest losses on Thursday included energy, consumer discretionary, and real estate, with most on the S&P 500 closing in the red. However, materials and information technology stocks bucked the trend, helping U.S. stocks settle higher as the S&P 500 hit a new record, with investors shrugging off government shutdown concerns.
Pushing its market capitalization to a record $4.6 trillion, Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose around 1%, extending its winning streak to a sixth consecutive session. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) surged 3.5% after Semafor reports suggested Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) may add AMD as a foundry customer. Intel shares advanced 2.2%, on track for their highest close since April 2024.
The Dow Jones index ended 79 points or 0.17% higher at 46,519.72, whereas the S&P 500 index rose 0.062% to 6,715.35. Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.39% to 22,844.05, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, gained 0.66% to end at 2,458.49.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | 0.39% | 22,844.05 |
| S&P 500 | 0.062% | 6,715.35 |
| Dow Jones | 0.17% | 46,519.72 |
| Russell 2000 | 0.66% | 2,458.49 |
Insights From Analysts
According to Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments, the current AI-driven market boom bears "juicy" resemblances to the exuberant run-up of the late 1990s dot-com era.
Timmer, in an X post, warned investors to be prepared for a 1999-style market melt-up, drawing direct parallels between today's market dynamics and the period leading up to the 2000 tech bust.
Timmer's analysis highlights how the AI boom's trajectory closely mirrors the 1994-2000 soft landing bull market, particularly noting that the past six months (April-October 2025) resemble the post-LTCM (Long-Term Capital Management) melt-up of 1998-2000.
He points out that the earlier boom was supported by three rate cuts from then-Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, implying a potential similar scenario for current and future monetary policy.
Meanwhile, Louis Navellier of Navellier & Associates said that “Market momentum appears unstoppable.”
“Retail investors keep adding. Foreign investors keep adding. We’re not alone; several other countries are seeing new highs as well. The global index is also at a record level, as is the global index ex-USA. The bias to equity versus debt has never been higher. Corporate share buybacks have never been higher,” he added.
However, a stark divergence has emerged between professional and retail investors, as new Bank of America data shows “Wall Street is selling to Main Street again.” U.S. equities saw a net outflow of $4.7 billion last week, overwhelmingly driven by institutional players cashing out.
Institutional investors led the charge, dumping $3.6 billion in stocks—their largest weekly sell-off since June. Hedge funds followed suit, offloading $1.3 billion, marking their third consecutive week of net selling. This exodus from so-called “smart money” contributed to one of the largest two-week outflows from single stocks since 2008, signaling a significant move to de-risk portfolios.
In sharp contrast, retail investors embraced the downturn as a chance to “buy the dip.” For the first time in four weeks, this cohort became net buyers, purchasing a total of $200 million in equities.
This classic market dynamic, where seasoned institutions sell into buying from individual investors, is often viewed as a cautionary indicator. It highlights a critical split in sentiment, raising questions about whether retail optimism will be rewarded or if the institutional flight signals turbulence ahead for the market.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what investors will be keeping an eye on Friday;
- September’s U.S. employment report, unemployment rate, and hourly wages data, which was supposed to be out by 8:30 a.m. ET, will not be released because of the government shutdown.
- September’s S&P final U.S. services PMI and ISM services data will also be delayed.
- Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson will speak at 1:40 p.m. ET.
Stocks In Focus
- Actelis Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:ASNS) jumped 42.95% after announcing a new contract. The contract value equals approximately 5.45% of the company’s current market capitalization.
- XCel Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:XELB) surged 47.98% following the announcement of a settlement agreement and equity transfer deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
- Rumble Inc. (NASDAQ:RUM) shares climbed 12.04% as it announced a partnership with Perplexity to integrate its AI-powered tools.
- Theriva Biologics Inc. (NYSE:TOVX) was up 0.96% after announcing plans to cut 32% of its workforce.
- Open Text Corp. (NASDAQ:OTEX) slipped 0.40% after it agreed to divest an on-premise solution (eDOCS), a part of its Analytics portfolio, to NetDocuments for $163 million.
- Kodiak AI Inc. (NASDAQ:KDK) rose 5.42% following a recent Schedule 13G filing from October 1, which revealed that Soros Fund Management LLC, led by George Soros, is a 5.7% beneficial owner of Kodiak AI’s common stock.
- SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN) gained 2.30% as the company recently gained recognition as a leader in IDC MarketScape's assessment of conversational AI platforms. This recognition, along with strong revenue momentum, has attracted renewed investor interest.
- Ondas Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:ONDS) advanced 1.85% following the company's announcement of a major purchase order for Wåsp drones, marking its entry into the U.S. defense market.
- Rigetti Computing Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) was 3.84% higher following last week’s news when it secured purchase orders worth around $5.7 million for two 9-qubit Novera quantum computing systems.
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading higher in the early New York session by 1.07% to hover around $61.13 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.09% to hover around $3,860.15 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,896.74 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.05% lower at the 97.8000 level.
Asian markets closed higher on Friday, except Hong Kong's Hang Seng index. Japan's Nikkei 225, Australia's ASX 200, South Korea's Kospi, China’s CSI 300, and India’s S&P BSE Sensex indices rose. European markets were also higher in early trade.
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