Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Senate Vote Triggers Shutdown

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U.S. government shutdown officially begins. (00:22) Taiwan says no to making 50% of its chips in U.S. (01:33) Nvidia (NVDA) tops $4.5 trillion market cap. (02:10)

This is an abridged transcript.

The U.S. government shutdown began at 12:01 am after the Senate rejected a short-term spending measure, forcing agencies to suspend operations except those that are essential.

On Tuesday night, the Senate vote fell 55–45, five votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster and pass the legislation.

This marks the first government shutdown since 2018, when the funding gap lasted for five weeks during Trump’s first term. It means thousands of workers are on unpaid leave and halting many government programs and services.

Roughly 750,000 federal workers could be furloughed each day, while key economic reports like jobs data and weekly claims will not be released.

Shutdowns typically last about a week, and history shows markets often bounce back. On average, the S&P 500 (SP500) has gained 13% a year after, including an 11% rally during the 2018 shutdown.

In the meantime, the government defers about $400M in daily costs and the Fed usually turns more dovish when data goes dark.

Taiwan—home to the biggest contract chipmaker, TSMC (NYSE:TSM)—said that it will not agree to produce 50% of its semiconductors in the U.S.

“I want to clarify that this is the US’s idea. Our negotiation team has never made a 50-50 commitment to a chip split,” the island’s top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun told reporters in Taipei.

“Please be rest assured that we did not discuss this issue this time, and we will not agree to such a condition,” she added.

She said that talks over U.S. tariffs on Taiwanese goods “made some progress” as Taiwan is trying to finalize a tariff deal with the U.S.

Right now there’s a 20% levy on Taiwan.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares hit a new record on Tuesday, rising 2.6% and making the chipmaker the first company to hit a $4.53 trillion market cap.

Shares closed at $186.58.

Nvidia has raced through market cap milestones in recent years, crossing $3 trillion in June 2024 and $4 trillion in July 2025 as demand for its AI chips continues to surge.

Market caps of other megacap tech peers stand at: Palantir Technologies (PLTR) $432.58B; Oracle (ORCL) $801.76B; Broadcom (AVGO) $1.56T; Apple (AAPL) $3.78T; Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) $262.56B and Microsoft (MSFT) at $3.85T.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has advanced 39% year-to-date.

On Tuesday, CoreWeave (CRWV), a cloud provider backed by Nvidia, announced a $14.2 billion deal to deliver AI infrastructure services to Meta.

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Catalyst watch:

• Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is holding a Gemini event that is expected to unveil the integration of Gemini AI for smart home devices, marking a major upgrade from Google Assistant across Nest Cam, smart speakers, and doorbells. New hardware devices could be announced.

• Golden Week begins in China to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. The holiday is especially important to the Macau casino sector, including Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), and Melco Resorts (MLCO).

Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures are in the red. Crude oil is down 0.9% at $61/barrel. Bitcoin is up 1.9% at $116,000. Gold is up 0.8% at $3,891.

The FTSE 100 is up 0.7% and the DAX is up 0.3%. The markets in China and Hong Kong are closed for a national holiday.

The biggest movers for the day premarket: Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) +35% – Shares climbed after Secretary of Energy Chris Wright confirmed that the U.S. government will acquire a stake in the company, validating recent reports.

On today’s economic calendar:

• 8:15 am ADP Employment Report

• 10:00 am Construction Spending

• 12:15 pm Richmond Federal Reserve Bank President Thomas Barkin will speak before the Economic Outlook Conference hosted by the University of North Carolina, Wilmington Swain Center