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By Stephen Culp NEW YORK (Reuters) -Technology shares boosted U.S. stocks to a higher close on Wednesday as investors, lacking economic data during the government shutdown, looked to minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting for clues to the outlook for interest rates. The tech-laden Nasdaq enjoyed the biggest percentage gain, boosted by the artificial intelligence-related megacaps that have led market gains so far this year. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched all-time closing highs, while the Dow ended essentially flat. Chip stocks were clear outperformers, while energy, consumer staples and homebuilders were the laggards, as a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed home loan demand dipped 4.7% last week despite easing interest rates. "The theme continues to be aggressive growth, with a constant supply of deal announcements, one after the other that are related to the AI space," said Bill Merz, head of Capital Market Research at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, Minneapolis. "Anything attached to AI is garnering a significant amount of attention." Amid continuing euphoria surrounding AI, mounting U.S. and geopolitical uncertainty has pushed gold prices above the $4,000-per-ounce threshold as investors flock to the safe-haven metal as a hedge against growing risks. "We’ve seen in the last few years that stocks and safe havens can work in conjunction with each other," Merz added. "A part of that comes from this dual reality that … fundamentals, for now, are supporting higher than normal valuation, and simultaneously, deficit spending has to be financed by additional debt." The U.S. government shutdown entered its eighth day, and a congressional stalemate appeared to suggest market participants will lack official economic indicators for the immediate future, leaving markets with little to go on until third-quarter earnings season kicks off next week. In the absence of data, investors looked to third-quarter earnings season to get underway next week and the minutes from the September meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) for clues as to the central bank's intentions regarding interest rate cuts. Those minutes showed a divided committee, with policymakers concerned about rising labor market risks but still wary of inflation. And while "most judged that it likely would be appropriate to ease policy further over the remainder of this year," the timing and pace of further moves remained an open question. "The topical discussion is about the extent of Fed cuts and how restrictive or not policy is," said Zachary Hill, head of portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina. "More broadly, the Fed is definitely not in a great position without public sector economic data as (the shutdown) continues to drag on, which really just makes policymakers' already challenging job even tougher." Financial markets are currently pricing in a fairly certain 92.5% likelihood that the Fed will lower the Fed funds target rate by 25 basis points at the conclusion of this month's policy meeting, which is set to occur on October 29.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.20 points, or 0.00%, to 46,601.78, the S&P 500 gained 39.13 points, or 0.58%, to 6,753.72 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 255.02 points, or 1.12%, to 23,043.38.  Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, tech shares led the gainers, while energy stocks had the steepest percentage loss. Datadog rose 6.2% after Bernstein raised its price target on the cloud security firm, while Intercontinental Exchange ICE.N fell 2.2% after Barclays cut its price target on the stock. Fair Isaac Corp fell 9.8% after credit bureau Equifax said it plans to offer cheaper mortgage credit scores. Surging gold prices helped U.S.-listed shares of gold miners Newmont and Gold Fields gain 1.7% and 3.7%, respectively. Dell rose 9.1% after multiple brokerages raised their price targets for the stock. Freeport-McMoRan advanced 5.3% in the wake of Citigroup's upgrade to "buy" from "neutral". Joby Aviation declined 8.1% after the electric air taxi maker on Tuesday priced a $514 million share sale at a 10.9% discount to its last closing price. AMD jumped 11.4%, extending its gains for the third day. The chipmaker's shares have surged over 43% this week. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.74-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 469 new highs and 70 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 3,007 stocks rose and 1,659 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.81-to-1 ratio.  The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 129 new highs and 62 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 20.70 billion shares, compared with the 19.63 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additonal reporting by Chibiuke Oguh in New York, and Niket Nishant and Sukriti Gupta in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)

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By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by the National Retail Federation challenging a New York state law that requires retailers to tell customers when their personal data are used to set prices, known as surveillance pricing. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the world's largest retail trade group did not plausibly allege that New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act violated its members' free speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment. Neither the NRF nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment after business hours. Spokespeople for New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office defended the law, did not immediately respond to similar requests. The first-in-the-nation law required retailers to disclose in capital letters when prices were set by algorithms using personal data, or face possible civil fines of $1,000 per violation. Governor Kathy Hochul said charging different prices depending on what people were willing to pay was "opaque," and prevented comparison-shopping. The trade group said the law reflected "speculative fear" of price gouging and forced retailers to convey that algorithms were "dangerous," though they could also be used to lower prices for promotions or to reward customer loyalty. JUDGE SAYS LAW INFORMS CONSUMERS ABOUT PRICES In a 28-page decision, Rakoff said the law was reasonably related to New York's legitimate interest in ensuring that customers understand their transactions. The disclosure "serves to ameliorate consumer confusion or deception by ensuring that consumers are better informed about how a merchant has set the displayed price," the judge wrote. New York's law was to take effect on July 8, but was put on hold because of the lawsuit. James agreed not to retroactively enforce the law for intervening violations. In January, a divided Federal Trade Commission issued a surveillance pricing study that said location data and online browsing histories could let retailers "target" individual consumers with different prices for the same products. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, then a commissioner, dissented from issuing the study, saying it was hurried out three days before President Donald Trump began his second White House term to meet a "nakedly political deadline." (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)

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By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit by the National Retail Federation challenging a New York state law that requires retailers to tell customers when their personal data are used to set prices, known as surveillance pricing. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said the world's largest retail trade group did not plausibly allege that New York's Algorithmic Pricing Disclosure Act violated its members' free speech rights under the Constitution's First Amendment. Neither the NRF nor its lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment after business hours. Spokespeople for New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office defended the law, did not immediately respond to similar requests. The first-in-the-nation law required retailers to disclose in capital letters when prices were set by algorithms using personal data, or face possible civil fines of $1,000 per violation. Governor Kathy Hochul said charging different prices depending on what people were willing to pay was "opaque," and prevented comparison-shopping. The trade group said the law reflected "speculative fear" of price gouging and forced retailers to convey that algorithms were "dangerous," though they could also be used to lower prices for promotions or to reward customer loyalty. JUDGE SAYS LAW INFORMS CONSUMERS ABOUT PRICES In a 28-page decision, Rakoff said the law was reasonably related to New York's legitimate interest in ensuring that customers understand their transactions. The disclosure "serves to ameliorate consumer confusion or deception by ensuring that consumers are better informed about how a merchant has set the displayed price," the judge wrote. New York's law was to take effect on July 8, but was put on hold because of the lawsuit. James agreed not to retroactively enforce the law for intervening violations. In January, a divided Federal Trade Commission issued a surveillance pricing study that said location data and online browsing histories could let retailers "target" individual consumers with different prices for the same products. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, then a commissioner, dissented from issuing the study, saying it was hurried out three days before President Donald Trump began his second White House term to meet a "nakedly political deadline." (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)

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By Caroline Valetkevitch NEW YORK (Reuters) -Major stock indexes rose on Wednesday, with U.S. and European indexes hitting record highs, while gold extended its recent rally above $4,000 an ounce as a prolonged U.S. government shutdown and expectations of further U.S. interest rate cuts drove demand for the safe-haven asset. Gold, traditionally seen as a store of value during times of instability, is up 54% year-to-date after gaining 27% in 2024. Spot gold was last up 1.36% at $4,037.90. U.S. gold futures GCv1 for December delivery settled 1.7% higher at $4,070.5. Silver also climbed to a record high. Shares of gold miners also rose, including U.S.-listed shares of Gold Fields, which ended 3.7% higher. The Japanese yen reached its weakest level since mid-February against the dollar as investors worried about an increase in fiscal spending in Japan, while the euro eased on ongoing political uncertainty in France. On Wall Street, stocks rebounded from Tuesday's declines, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq registering all-time closing highs and technology shares leading the way higher. Nvidia shares ended 2.2% higher. "It comes down to investors have been optimistic since April, and that optimism continues to be expressed in spite of a government shutdown, a slowing employment market or any other red flags that would normally detract investors," said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president and advisor for Wealthspire Advisors in Westport, Connecticut. Investors have been without most U.S. economic data as the federal government remains shut. Minutes released Wednesday from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed a divided committee, in which policymakers were concerned about rising labor market risks but remained wary of inflation. The central bank is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points at its October 28-29 meeting, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.20 points to 46,601.78, the S&P 500 gained 39.13 points, or 0.58%, to 6,753.72 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 255.02 points, or 1.12%, to 23,043.38. European shares climbed to record highs, powered by strong gains in French and Spanish stocks. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.8%, closing at its highest level, while French stocks jumped 1.1% and Spanish stocks touched their highest mark since 2007. French caretaker Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said a deal could eventually be reached on a 2026 budget despite the country's political crisis. France's fifth prime minister in two years, Lecornu tendered his and his government's resignation on Monday, just hours after announcing the cabinet line-up, making it the shortest-lived administration in modern France. The euro pared losses after Lecornu also said on Wednesday that President Emmanuel Macron could be in a position to nominate a new prime minister in the next 48 hours. The currency was last down 0.33% at $1.1616 and reached $1.1597, the lowest since August 27. In Japan, the surprise election of Sanae Takaichi to lead the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday has dented the yen on expectations of greater government stimulus. Against the yen the dollar was last up 0.53% at 152.7. It earlier reached 152.99, the highest since February 14, and has risen from 147.44 on Friday. U.S. Treasury yields turned positive in afternoon trading after investors showed tepid demand at an auction of 10-year notes. The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note was up 0.6 basis points to 4.133%. Oil prices rose. Traders expected a lack of progress on a Ukraine peace deal to keep sanctions in place against Moscow. U.S. crude rose 82 cents to settle at $62.55 a barrel and Brent gained 80 cents to settle at $66.25. (Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper and Joice Alves in London and Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, Alexandra Hudson, Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis)

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By Walter Bianchi BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) -Argentina's Treasury is rapidly depleting its dollar reserves to defend the peso, straining financial markets on Wednesday as funds from a special deal with agricultural exporters run low weeks before midterm elections. Traders estimate the Treasury, under the Economy Ministry, has sold around $2 billion in recent sessions to support the weakening peso. The ministry does not publicly report its market operations. The interventions have rapidly depleted the Treasury's hard currency holdings. According to a report from Portfolio Personal Inversiones, dollar deposits held at the central bank plunged from $1.44 billion last Friday to just $680 million, leaving only "a few more days" of intervention capacity at the current pace. The Treasury has now sold off over three-quarters of the hard currency it raised from the export scheme, according to consultancy Wise Capital. Late last month, the government suspended export taxes on grains and their byproducts. Within a few days, traders committed to selling some $7 billion worth of crops, largely soybeans to China. Cash poured in, but the deal has stoked tensions with Washington, as U.S. farmers have been frozen out of the Chinese market due to a tariff standoff. The pressure is mounting ahead of Argentina's legislative elections on October 26, seen as a crucial test for libertarian President Javier Milei's administration. In a bid to calm markets, Economy Minister Luis Caputo is in Washington negotiating a potential $20 billion currency swap deal. An announcement could follow a planned meeting between Milei and U.S. President Donald Trump next week. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told Reuters the fund is working closely with the U.S., the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank to develop an aid package for Argentina. On Wednesday, the wholesale peso held at 1,430 per dollar, but the parallel rate used for moving money abroad climbed to 1,556 per greenback, widening the exchange-rate gap to nearly 9%. The consensus among economists is that the current intervention strategy is a temporary bridge until the election. A new, freer foreign-exchange regime is widely expected afterward, with its implementation dependent on the election results and securing U.S. financial support. In asset markets, sovereign bond prices fell by an average of 1%. In contrast, the S&P Merval stock index reversed early losses to close up 1.42%. Meanwhile, shares in aluminum producer Aluar jumped 2.93% after the government temporarily suspended export tariffs on the metal. (Reporting by Walter Bianchi in Buenos Aires; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

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By David Shepardson BALTIMORE (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration delayed flights for a third straight day on Wednesday at airports including Reagan Washington National and Newark Liberty International Airport as the agency continued to face higher-than-normal staffing shortages. There were nearly 3,000 flight delays by 5:30 p.m. ET (2130 GMT) after 10,000 delays in total on Monday and Tuesday with thousands tied to the FAA slowing flights because of air traffic controller absences at facilities across the country as the government shutdown reached its eighth day. Some flights at Reagan were being forced to hold in the air due to a slowdown in air traffic, the FAA said. "Historically, there's about 5% of delays that is attributed to staffing issues in our towers. Last couple days it has been 53%," U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on Fox News' "Will Cain Show." "My message to the air traffic controllers who work for DOT is show up for work — you have a job to do." Air traffic control staffing issues during this shutdown have emerged earlier than the last major halt to government funding in 2019, during U.S. President Donald Trump's first term, leading to unexpected shortages in cities around the country. "The bottom line is these controllers are stressed out, and they're rebelling on this shutdown because they may not get paid," Duffy said. Maryland Governor Wes Moore and congressional Democrats called for the shutdown to end at Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Wednesday, noting that air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers are working without pay. Moore, a Democrat, said President Trump "could not close a deal" to keep the government open. Representative Kwiesi Mfume, a Democrat, called for supplemental legislation that would continue to pay air traffic controllers during a shutdown. "People are beginning to worry now about flying and we should as a nation never get to that point," he said. In 2019, during a 35-day shutdown, the number of absences by controllers and TSA officers rose as workers missed paychecks, extending checkpoint wait times at some airports. Authorities were forced to slow air traffic in New York, which put pressure on lawmakers to quickly end the standoff. Some 13,000 air traffic controllers and about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers must still turn up for work during the government shutdown, but they are not being paid. Controllers are set to receive a partial paycheck on October 14 for work performed before the shutdown. "Our BWI workers are still here," Moore said. "They're doing it because they're patriots. They're doing it because they know that this work matters." Separately, Duffy said USDOT had secured $41 million to keep the Essential Air Service program funded into early November. Some carriers including Alaska Airlines had vowed to continue government-subsided flights to rural or remote areas even after USDOT warned they might not get reimbursed starting next week. The U.S. has faced air traffic control shortages for more than a decade, and many controllers had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks even before the shutdown. The FAA is about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Mark Porter and Diane Craft)

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini said on Thursday it has launched an Australian operation as the firm expands into the country, offering its digital currency exchange services to tap into growing demand. "We think that there's enough market opportunity for us to build a local platform," Saad Ahmed, head of APAC at Gemini, told Reuters on the sidelines of the TOKEN2049 crypto conference in Singapore last week. "We have some institutional customers from Australia, and I think that is another area where we've seen some growth. So having a team on the ground, building a business which is localised, which is optimised for Australian users… makes sense for us." The crypto adoption rate in the country rose to 31% as of early this year, up from 28% last year, according to the Australian Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index report released in February. New York City-based Gemini, led by the billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, made its debut on the Nasdaq last month after raising $425 million in an initial public offering. The launch of Gemini's Australian operations, named Gemini Intergalactic Australia, will allow the company to offer crypto exchange services in the country after registration with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) as a digital currency provider, it said in a statement. Prior to the move, customers in Australia were able to use Gemini's platform but were serviced through the firm's global arm. (Reporting by Rae WeeEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

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(Reuters) -U.S. regulators are investigating Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance over its accounting practices in investment operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The Securities and Exchange Commission has issued subpoenas seeking information about MassMutual's bookkeeping around income on billions of dollars of loans it holds in its general investment account, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. According to the Journal, the SEC is investigating whether MassMutual properly reconciled accrued interest as it received payments on loans held in its general investment account. The probe is ongoing and may not lead to formal allegations of wrongdoing, WSJ said. MassMutual did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Founded in 1851, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance is a mutual insurer offering life insurance, retirement and investment products. MassMutual is a policyholder-owned company with no publicly traded shares. It regularly issues corporate notes and other debt securities, which are held by a broad range of investors who rely on its financial disclosures for investment decisions. (Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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(Reuters) -The Trump administration has postponed a scheduled sale of coal leases on federal lands in Wyoming two days after a disappointing auction in Montana, an Interior Department spokesperson said on Wednesday. The Bureau of Land Management, a division of Interior that manages 245 million acres of federal lands, had been expected to keep processing permits and leases for oil, gas and coal operations during the government shutdown, according to contingency plans published last week. A sale of 3,508 acres of federal coal reserves in Wyoming's Campbell and Converse counties had been scheduled for Wednesday morning. The lease area contains 365 million tons of recoverable coal. Interior said it would post a new date for the sale but did not give a reason for the postponement. BLM held a lease sale for 1,262 acres in Big Horn County, Montana on Monday that attracted one bid from the Navajo Transitional Energy Company, which operates the nearby Spring Creek Mine. The bid of $186,000 for a lease with an estimated 167.5 million tons of recoverable coal equates to less than a penny per ton. The Interior Department blamed the administrations of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, both Democrats, for the weak industry interest. "While we would have liked to see stronger participation, this sale reflects the lingering impact from Obama and Biden’s decades long war on coal which aggressively sought to end all domestic coal production and erode confidence in the U.S. coal industry," the Interior Department said in a statement. "Fortunately, President Trump and his Administration are rebuilding trust between industry and government as part of our broader effort to restore American Energy Dominance." Obama and Biden had toughened environmental regulations on coal to reduce pollution and climate impact, and encourage a transition to renewable energy sources. BLM has not yet accepted the NTEC bid because under the leasing process it first must determine whether it represents fair market value. NTEC had argued in sale documents that the fair market value of the coal should be close to the minimum bid of $100 per acre required by law. The company did not respond to requests for comment. President Donald Trump has vowed to revive coal leasing on federal lands so coal can fuel more of the nation's soaring electricity demand tied to artificial intelligence. (Reporting by Nichola Groom; editing by Diane Craft)

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(Reuters) -Alliance Laundry priced its upsized New York initial public offering at the top end of its marketed range, raising $826.3 million, the commercial laundry equipment maker said on Wednesday, adding to continued IPO activity amid a U.S. government shutdown. The Ripon, Wisconsin-based company and its backer, BDT Capital Partners, sold 34.1 million shares at $22 apiece, compared to its target range of $19 to $22. The IPO valued it at $4.34 billion. U.S. IPO activity has gained momentum in recent months after a slowdown driven by market volatility linked to trade policy uncertainty. New listings are drawing strong investor interest, signaling a revival in risk appetite. A Federal Reserve rate cut in September further boosted confidence in new offerings. However, the U.S. government shutdown poses a fresh risk to the recovery, as the Securities and Exchange Commission has halted IPO reviews while operating with only essential staff. The listing follows an earlier attempt by BDT & MSD Partners to sell the company, which could have valued it at nearly $5 billion including debt, Reuters reported previously. In 2015, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan sold its majority stake in Alliance Laundry to BDT Capital Partners.  Founded in 1908, Alliance Laundry manufactures commercial washing machines, dryers and ironers with load capacities of up to 400 pounds under five brands: Speed Queen, UniMac, Huebsch, Primus and IPSO. BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan were the lead underwriters for the offering. Alliance Laundry will list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ALH" on October 9. (Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

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