To gain an edge, this is what you need to know now.

Shutdown

Please click here for a chart of S&P 500 ETF () which represents the benchmark for the stock market index ().

Note the following:

  • The government is preparing for a shutdown starting next week if Congress fails to act on the debt ceiling.
  • There have been 14 shutdowns since 1980.
  • The median loss is only -0.1% on the day the budget expires.  The median gain is +0.1% during the shutdown period.  When the shutdown was resolved, the market went up 0.3%.