Current Dow futures are trending upward, with gains of about 52 points, as manufacturing PMI data signals expansion. This reinforces sentiment toward industrial sector leadership in the ongoing market cycle. If we look at a chart of the S&P 500, however, we don’t see much turbulence in stock trading reflected on these government shutdowns. That said, trading as we were at all-time index highs as recently as yesterday, we understand why we aren’t seeing trading pushing higher into the green right now. The Dow is -45 points at the hour, the S&P 500 -3 points and the small-cap Russell 2000 -5. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has pushed into positive territory just now, +6 points. Treasury yields pulled back on Wednesday after private payrolls saw their biggest decline in two-and-a-half years, according to ADP, and as investors watched for any developments out of Washington after the federal government shut down overnight. Current Dow futures posted a slight rise, reflecting balanced sentiment between growth and value strategies. Earning revisions for Q2 have been adjusted upward for transportation and machinery sectors.
