MW The government shutdown is ending. Here's how stocks performed, and what could come next for the economy.
By Victor Reklaitis
House passes funding bill and Trump is slated to sign it into law around 9:45 p.m. Eastern
The federal government's longest-ever shutdown is ending.
The record-setting government shutdown is just about over, as the U.S. House of Representatives voted 222-209 on Wednesday in favor of a bill that reopens federal agencies and President Donald Trump was ready to sign the bill into law.
The shutdown lasted 43 days, breaking a record for length that had been held by a closure that took place nearly seven years ago. Many strategists had stressed that U.S. stocks typically aren't fazed by Washington's failures to operate, and their point looks on target now that government agencies are getting back to business.
The S&P 500 index SPX ended up gaining 2.4% and hitting new records during the latest shutdown, which began Oct. 1. That's similar to what has happened in recent decades with closures. Before this year, there had been six government shutdowns since 1978 that lasted five days or more - and the S&P 500 had advanced in the four most recent shutdowns.
So what's ahead for the U.S. economy?
For the airline industry JETS, it will take some time for carriers to right their operations after the federally mandated capacity cuts that hit during the shutdown, as MarketWatch has reported.
Related: Delta CEO says airlines were a 'political football' during shutdown
Economic growth is likely to have decreased by 1 or 1.5 percentage points during the quarter due to the shutdown, but the reopening should deliver a big rebound due in part to federal workers again receiving paychecks and their back pay, according to economist Kevin Hassett, director of Trump's National Economic Council.
In addition, investors look set to face a flood of important economic reports that have been delayed due to the shutdown.
The shutdown's end is positive for markets because it brings "increased but not instant clarity on everything from air traffic to social programs to economic data," said Terry Haines, a veteran analyst and founder of Pangaea Policy, in a note. An underappreciated positive is that markets "functioned well despite the supposed economic opacity from no government data," Haines added.
The House's vote for the funding bill came after the Senate gave its OK late Monday. Before that Senate vote, on late Sunday eight Democratic senators sided with Republicans to advance the compromise measure.
The bill funds some parts of the federal government through Jan. 30 and other parts for a full year. It reverses mass layoffs of federal workers implemented during the shutdown, prevents further firings through Jan. 30 and ensures that federal employees will get the paychecks they've missed.
The eight Senate Democrats agreed to provide support after their Republican colleagues promised a vote by the second week of December on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies - the issue that sparked the shutdown.
The White House said Wednesday evening that Trump was planning to sign the funding bill into law around 9:45 p.m. Eastern in the Oval Office.
-Victor Reklaitis
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November 12, 2025 20:29 ET (01:29 GMT)
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