Pfizer and Abbott Laboratories. Investors will also watch what happens with roughly $82 billion worth of student loans held by the government whose payments will begin in October. This could sap consumer spending ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Meanwhile, a feud over spending cuts between hardline and centrist Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives raises the risk that of a fourth federal government shutdown in a decade if lawmakers cannot reach a deal by Sep. 30, when funding runs out with the end of the current fiscal year.
A government shutdown stands to directly reduce U.S. economic growth by around 0.15 percentage points for each week it lasts, analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote this week. Of course, bullish stock investors have largely been rewarded for looking past potential pitfalls this year.
The S&P 500 rallied despite the regional bank crisis in Feb., concerns over a debt default in June, and fear that the Federal Reserve's most aggressive pace of interest rates hikes since the early 1980s will push the economy into a recession and derail corporate earnings growth. Some investors believe further gains could come from a resilient economy and continued excitement over the business potential of artificial intelligence, fanned this week by chip maker Nvidia’s strong earnings report and $25 billion stock buyback announcement. Tim Hayes, chief global investment strategist at Ned Davis Research, expects a relief rally in September.
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