Optimism around corporate earnings overshadowed any investor concerns around a US government shutdown and left both the S&P500 and Nasdaq at fresh record highs - Dow up +54-points or +0.21% after spending much of Friday's session in the red, with International Business Machines Corp (IBM) down -3.99% and American Express Co -1.83% both dragging on the index after both companies reported fourth quarter losses late last Thursday. IBM alone lopped -45-points off the Dow. The broader S&P500 rose +0.44%, and has now 395 sessions without a loss of 5% or more - the longest such stretch since the period between 1994 and 1996 and now an all-time record. NASDAQ +0.55%. The federal government partially shut down for the first time since 2013 early Saturday, after a House-passed bill failed to garner enough votes to clear the Senate amid a bruising battle over immigration and spending. The Senate will vote again late this afternoon (~7pm AEDT) on whether to extend stopgap funding until 8 February. For the week, the Dow gained +1.04%, the S&P500 +0.86% and Nasdaq +1.04%.
