Wall Street rises as investors look past shutdown risk

Wall Street indexes closed up today with the Nasdaq leading gains as investors bought heavyweight technology stocks and shrugged off the uncertainty of a potential U.S. government shutdown and hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials.

Technology provided the benchmark S&P’s biggest boost as investors bet on growth from artificial intelligence and expectations that the Fed will keep cutting interest rates as it grapples with persistent inflation concerns and labor market uncertainties.

A major focus for Wall Street this week is a standoff between Republicans and Democrats over funding that has raised the prospect of a government shutdown beginning Wednesday, the first day of the U.S. government’s new fiscal year. Even as the Labor Department prepared for a potential delay of its Sep