NEW YORK (AFP/APP): Global stocks ended mixed Friday on signs of slowing inflation on both sides of the Atlantic, ahead of an impending government shutdown in the US.
On Wall Street, stocks reversed some earlier gains to close out a gloomy month of trading while the US government headed towards its first shutdown since 2019 over the weekend. This came as hardline Republicans tanked a plan proposed by their own party to keep funds flowing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and broad-based S&P 500 both ended the day in the red, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index etched out a small gain. “I think the idea of a potential government shutdown is not a major factor driving stock prices but it certainly doesn’t help sentiment at all,” Steve Sosnick from Interactive Brokers told AFP.
