Stocks Rise as US Government Shutdown Nears an End

The record-breaking US government shutdown is nearing an end after a group of moderate Senate Democrats agreed to support a deal to reopen the government and fund some departments and agencies for the next year, people familiar with the talks said. Under the agreement, Congress would pass full-year funding for the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Congress itself, while funding other agencies through Jan. 30. The bill would provide pay for furloughed government workers, resume withheld federal payments to states and localities and recall agency employees who were laid off during the shutdown. US stock-index futures jumped in early Asian trading. For more on the early market action in Asia, we turn to Paul Dobson, Bloomberg's Executive Editor for Asia Markets.

Plus - the US Government shutdown has delayed the release of two monthly jobs reports and may also impact the release of a key inflation snapshot, creating a data fog for the Federal Reserve. The absence of official reports on inflation and the job market will prolong the debate about whether another rate cut is needed at the Fed's December meeting, with some economists predicting that October's figures would have supported a rate cut. Fed officials will have to rely on retroactive surveys and private-sector reports to inform their decisions, with several appearances by Fed officials in the coming week, including John Williams, Raphael Bostic, Stephen Miran, and Alberto Musalem, being closely watched by investors. We speak to Chris Carey, Portfolio Manager, Carnegie Investment Counsel. 

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