US equities rose on Wednesday as traders looked past the start of a government shutdown to focus instead on fresh economic data that reinforced expectations for interest-rate cuts, and on positive news for drugmakers that drove their stocks higher for a second day.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.3%, driven by the health-care sector as shares of pharmaceutical companies extended gainsBloomberg Terminal amid optimism the Trump administration’s deal with Pfizer Inc. will lead to more such arrangements. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.5% as of the close in New York.