Wall Street’s main indices opened lower on Thursday, as investors sought clarity on the state of the US economy and the future path of monetary policy. This market reaction followed President Donald Trump signing the bill that ended the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history.

The bill, signed late on Wednesday, brought an end to the 43-day political stalemate that had paralysed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of public sector workers unpaid. The shutdown had also temporarily halted the release of essential government economic data, depriving policymakers and businesses of key reports used to gauge the health of the world’s largest economy. The market participants will now keenly monitor the resumption of economic

Data releases from the US government. These reports will be critical in assessing whether the Federal Reserve is likely to continue cutting interest rates at its upcoming December policy meeting.

At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 80.9 points, or 0.17%, to 48,173.92. The S&P 500 fell 24.4 points, or 0.36%, to 6,826.47​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 143.8 points, or 0.61%, to 2,3262.645.

Key Stock Movers

Walt Disney stock declined by 7.9% as the company reported quarterly earnings that missed expectations.