The end of the US budget impasse is now pretty much acted. After more than 40 days of stalemate, the shutdown is expected to conclude on Wednesday. The bipartisan compromise struck in the Senate is making its way through the House of Representatives - a mere formality - before landing on Donald Trump's desk for signature. Legally, the process should be wrapped up by Wednesday, 13 November, marking the end of a 43-day standoff-the longest of the eleven shutdowns in US history. Around 1.6 million federal employees are set to return to work.

This resolution has sparked a marked rebound on Wall Street, ever ready to turn any flicker of good news into a full-blown fireworks display. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 2.2% at the close, recouping roughly half of its recent losses. The end of the federal gridlock removes one of the risk factors that had been weighing on the US economy - and by extension, on financial markets. Earlier in the day, Europe had already priced in the happy ending, with the Euro Stoxx 50 index gaining 1.8%, fuelled by cyclical and financial stocks.

In the US, AI-linked equities led the charge, notably Nvidia (+5.8%), Micron (+6.5%) and Palantir (+8.8%). Not because the sector is particularly sensitive to government shutdowns (in truth, it couldn’t care less), but because these stocks act as magnets for investors who are completely hooked. The recent consolidation in tech shares has provided a more affordable entry point than a month ago. The question now is how the sector will react to the downward revision of earnings targets by one of its darlings, announced last night after the US close. CoreWeave, a high-speed cloud infrastructure provider whose stock has surged 2.5 times since its IPO last March, warned it would fall short of market expectations for the final quarter of the year. It's a blemish, no doubt, but its order book is robust enough to soften the blow. The stock still fell 6% in after-hours trading, though that's relatively modest given today’s exuberant post-earnings swings, where drops of 15% and jumps of 20% are increasingly common.

In short, the end of the shutdown has eclipsed all other minor concerns at the start of the week. The next question is how swiftly the backlog of delayed US economic data will be released. Investors dislike operating in a fog of uncertainty. Past experience suggests some key figures could be published fairly quickly. A Deutsche Bank economist cited by Bloomberg noted that in a previous episode in 2013, the monthly jobs report was issued just three days after the shutdown ended.

Elsewhere, Donald Trump sounded an optimistic note regarding imminent trade deals with Switzerland and India. On a different front, US-China relations remain predictably tense. Despite recent agreements, both sides are busy undermining each other behind the scenes. Washington is cutting off chip supplies to Beijing, while China is reportedly crafting a plan to prevent the US military from accessing rare-earth magnets. In Japan, the honeymoon between the archipelago and its new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has been short-lived. Already under fire for the generous fiscal package she is preparing to unveil, the leader came under diplomatic pressure last week after suggesting that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Tokyo.

In the Asia-Pacific region, where the end of the US budget deadlock had already been celebrated yesterday, markets mostly posted modest declines. Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Indian and Taiwan all fell by less than 0.3%, mainland China by 0.8%. South Korea, buoyed by its tech-heavy index, managed a 0.8% gain after having rebounded by 3% the day before. European markets remain tilted to the upside at the open, despite slightly negative US futures.

Today's economic highlights:

Today's agenda: in the United Kingdom, unemployment claims and the 3-month ILO unemployment rate; in Germany, the ZEW survey on the current situation and expectations; in the eurozone, the ZEW survey on expectations. See the full calendar here.

  • GBP / USD: US$1.31
  • Gold: US$4,129.95
  • Crude Oil (BRENT): US$63.72
  • United States 10 years: 4.12%
  • BITCOIN: US$105,145

In corporate news:

  • Standard Chartered appoints Jim Wang as CEO of Standard Chartered Securities (China) Ltd.
  • Crimson Tide secures a £3.88 million contract extension with a major global retailer.
  • Helios Towers undergoes a secondary share placement with Helios Investment Partners Fund II selling 3.9% of its shares.
  • Serica Energy acquires oil and gas assets in the UK from BP by exercising pre-emptive rights.
  • Shell shifts focus from renewable energy projects to fossil fuels amid tax increases.
  • UniCredit challenges the Golden Power decision on its Banco BPM acquisition in court.
  • INWIT reports strong Q3 financial results but lowers 2026 revenue projections.
  • Technoprobe experiences strong revenue and EBITDA growth in the first nine months of 2025.
  • OVS acquires Kasanova through a capital increase subscription worth up to €15 million.
  • Acinque reports strong net profit growth and stable EBITDA for the first nine months of 2024.
  • Berkshire Hathaway announces Warren Buffett will step down as CEO by the end of 2025, endorsing Greg Abel as successor.
  • Boeing receives FAA approval for phase 3 of the 777X certification flight tests.
  • Apple postpones the launch of the iPhone Air 2 due to weak sales and reduced production.
  • Tesla shareholders approve Elon Musk's $878 billion compensation package.
  • Beyond Meat reports lower-than-expected quarterly sales and increased losses.
  • Consolidated Water sees Q3 revenue and net income growth from its services segment.
  • Mereo BioPharma reports a narrowed net loss for Q3 with sufficient cash reserves until 2027.
  • Bally's Q3 revenue growth driven by the addition of Queen properties and Intralot acquisition.

See more news from UK listed companies here

Analyst Recommendations:

  • Antofagasta Plc: Canaccord Genuity maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 2125 to GBX 3165.
  • Rightmove Plc: Grupo Santander upgrades to outperform from underperform and reduces the target price from GBX 800 to GBX 700.
  • M.p. Evans Group Plc: Panmure Liberum maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 1450 to GBX 1600.
  • Pennon Group Plc: Deutsche Bank maintains its buy recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 540 to GBX 580.
  • Severn Trent Plc: Deutsche Bank maintains its hold recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 2800 to GBX 3000.
  • Lancashire Holdings Limited: Autonomous Research downgrades to neutral from outperform and reduces the target price from GBP 7.70 to GBP 7.30.
  • Barclays Plc: RBC Capital maintains its outperform recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 500 to GBX 525.
  • Watches Of Switzerland Group Plc: RBC Capital maintains its sector perform recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 375 to GBX 400.
  • Tate & Lyle Plc: BNP Paribas maintains its outperform recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 658 to GBX 518.
  • Associated British Foods Plc: Barclays maintains its equalweight recommendation and raises the target price from GBP 25 to GBP 25.50.
  • Croda International Plc: Jefferies downgrades to hold from buy and reduces the target price from GBX 3100 to GBX 3000.
  • Wise Plc: JP Morgan maintains its overweight recommendation and reduces the target price from GBP 13.80 to GBP 13.75.
  • Wpp Group: AlphaValue/Baader Europe maintains its buy recommendation and reduces the target price from GBX 652 to GBX 413.
  • Shell Plc: Morgan Stanley maintains its overweight recommendation and raises the target price from GBX 2860 to GBX 3007.