Stocks Rally to Record Highs as Shutdown Looms – Dow and S&P Post Best September in 15 Years
Market Performance (Sept. 30 & Oct. 1) U.S. stock markets closed Sept. 30 higher, ending the month on a positive note. The S&P 500 closed at 6,688.46 (+0.41%), the Dow at 46,397.89 (+0.18%), and the Nasdaq at 22,660.01 (+0.31%) reuters.com. All three indices notched monthly and quarterly gains: for September, the S&P rose about 3.5% (its best September since 2010) reuters.com reuters.com, and the Dow and Nasdaq each notched their largest one-month rise since 2019. This pushed the Dow to another record closing high reuters.com. Defensive sectors (health care, consumer staples, utilities) outperformed, while cyclical areas (airlines, transports) lagged due