(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures advanced on Monday following signs of progress in Washington to end a record U.S. government shutdown that has stalled economic data releases and intensified concerns over the state of the economy.
Wall Street’s main indexes ended last week with steep declines, with the Nasdaq suffering its worst week in more than seven months as worries about the labor market and tech sector valuations dampened risk appetite.
In a procedural vote on Sunday, senators advanced a House-passed bill that will be amended to fund the government until January 30. If the Senate eventually passes the amended measure, it still must be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature, a process that could take several days.
“The interplay between government shutdown risks, heavy Treasury issuance, and fading foreign demand for U.S. assets has created a fragile liquidity backdrop,” said Bob Savage, head of markets macro strategy at BNY.
“If the U.S. government reopens smoothly and the Fed signals readiness to stabilize liquidity, risk appetite could recover, particularly in quality growth and AI-linked productivity stories.”
At 05:17 a.m., Dow E-minis were up 204 points, or 0.43%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 66 points, or 0.98%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 382 points, or 1.52%.
The longest federal shutdown in history left both the Federal Reserve and traders in the dark without official economic readings and reliant on private economic indicators, which provided a mixed picture of the labor market.
The shutdown has also weighed on the U.S. economy, with federal workers going unpaid and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett saying in an interview that fourth-quarter U.S. economic growth could be negative if the closure continues.
On betting website Polymarket, predictions for an end to the shutdown this week stood at 87%.
Most AI and tech stocks were higher in premarket trading, with AI bellwether Nvidia gaining 3.6%, while Alphabet and Meta Platforms added 2.2% and 2%, respectively.
Other chipmakers also rose, with Qualcomm and Intel up over 1.5% each. Broadcom gained 2.5% and Micron Technology was up 4.4%.
Optimism around artificial intelligence has fueled a bull run in U.S. stocks this year, but concerns around the monetization of the technology and circular spending within the sector drove a bout of selling in tech stocks last week.
Meanwhile, the earnings reporting period for the third quarter is approaching its conclusion. Of the 446 S&P 500 companies that have reported, 83% have delivered better-than-expected earnings, according to LSEG data.
Analysts now expect third-quarter earnings to have grown 16.8% year-on-year for the S&P 500, far higher than the initial estimates of 8% annual growth.
Among other stocks, Metsera slumped 15.3% after Pfizer won a $10 billion bidding war to acquire the company.
Beyond Meat rose 4% ahead of quarterly results.
(Reporting by Twesha Dikshit in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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