The early rally in US stocks ran out of steam as government shutdown looms

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Your Evening Briefing September 29, 2025 The early rally in US stocks ran out of steam as government shutdown looms The early morning market rally ran out of steam throughout the session as the threat of a US government shutdown on Wednesday weighed on US stocks. The S&P 500 ended the day up 0.3% and the Nasdaq 100 enjoyed a 0.4% gain, while the Russell 2000 was just barely green. Every S&P 500 sector ETF finished in the green except for energy. Stocks that moved higher: Weed stocks Tilray, Canopy Growth, SNDL Inc., and Cronos Group soared after Trump reposted a video touting CBD products as the "most important senior health initiative of the century." Alibaba rose after analysts upped their price targets based on a strong cloud outlook and synergies in its rapid-delivery model of e-commerce. Nuclear power stock Oklo rose as Barclays analysts initiated coverage of the stock with an "overweight" rating. Shopify and Etsy jumped after OpenAI said ChatGPT users can now turn searches into instant purchases. Western Digital and Seagate Technology Holdings — makers of the affordable data storage devices known as hard disk drives — surged amid a general upswing in the AI data center trade and after a specific shout-out to the sector by Morgan Stanley IT analysts. Electronic Arts continued its rise on confirmation of Friday's reports that it's being taken private for $55 billion by Saudi Arabia's PIF, Silver Lake, and Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners. Snap moved higher after the social media company announced that it would be charging users for its Memories features after they reach 5 gigabytes of storage. Robinhood Markets jumped to an all-time high on growing optimism about the brokerage's prediction markets business both on Wall Street and within the company's own executive suite. (Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.) Nvidia's stock was buoyed by Jefferies analyst Blayne Curtis hiking his price target on the $4 trillion chip designer to $220 from $205 thanks to the recent announcement of its $100 million investment in OpenAI. Cancer startup Merus surged after Danish biotech Genmab announced that it will acquire Merus in an all-cash deal worth about $8 billion. Stocks that moved lower: Despite beating earnings expectations, raising its outlook for the third time this year, and posting record revenue, Carnival shares sank. Cava, headquartered in Washington, DC, fell as the Mediterranean chain could be an unlikely victim of a potential US government shutdown if federal employees aren't around to buy its fast-casual lunches. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals dropped after a Food and Drug Administration official criticized a method of evaluating drugs that was used to approve the company's flagship lupus medication. "Follow the feds" replaces "follow the Fed" as financial market maxim Taking a position in companies the US government has exposure to has worked out handsomely so far. Read more. How well can top AI models do these jobs? An OpenAI benchmark tests how well AI models can perform "economically valuable" jobs. Read more. Electronic Arts set to go private in $55 billion deal — the latest in a long line of disappearing stocks The "Madden" maker is set to join a growing group of listed companies that are deciding to drop out of exchanges. Starbucks is shutting around 1% of its stores in North America The chain is also axing 900 non-retail jobs. The US federal government is viewed negatively by most Americans, poll finds The pharmaceutical and advertising industries are unpopular with Americans, but they feel much better about farming and restaurant sectors, per a new survey. Tesla is on track for its best month since the election The stock is riding high on analyst upgrades and big expected third-quarter sales. Electric vehicle sales to hit record this quarter as sun sets on tax credit Cox Automotive expects US EV sales to reach 410,000 in Q3, up more than 20% from last year. Was this email forwarded to you? Don't miss out on future stories — subscribe to The Wrap and get your daily dose of financial news straight to your inbox.  Craving more insights in your inbox? Subscribe to Chartr and Snacks for quality reads. We care what you think! If you have any feedback or comments, feel free to reply and let us know your thoughts!  Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more Sherwood Terms and Conditions Our Editorial Standards Contact Us Advertise With Us Unsubscribe Privacy Policy SHERWOOD MEDIA, LLC, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025