US President Donald Trump signed a funding bill late on Wednesday to officially end the 43-day government shutdown, restoring operations across federal agencies.
For investors, though, the reopening hasn’t brought the clarity they hoped for. According to White House officials, unemployment and inflation data for October will not be released at all.
That data vacuum is rattling markets, especially high-growth sectors like artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing today.
Shares of Nvidia, Broadcom, Rigetti, IonQ – all traded lower on Thursday as traders grappled with uncertainty around labour market health and monetary policy direction.
Without fresh macroeconomic signals, investors are flying blind – and AI stocks, which thrive on forward-looking confidence, are bearing the brunt.
Why the monthly unemployment data matters for AI stocks
AI stocks are particularly sensitive to labour market trends because they sit right at the intersection of automation, enterprise spending, and economic productivity.
Unemployment data helps investors gauge whether businesses are hiring, expanding, or pulling back – all of which influence demand for AI infrastructure and services.
Without October’s unemployment data, analysts lack key input for modeling corporate investment behavior, which is especially problematic for companies like Nvidia and Broadcom, whose chips power data centers and AI workloads.
If hiring slows or layoffs rise, it could signal weaker enterprise demand.
In short, the absence of monthly unemployment data leaves investors guessing – and in uncertain environments, high-beta tech stocks like AI tend to suffer first.
Lack of inflation data – and even bigger risk for AI stocks
The missing inflation report poses an even greater challenge. AI stocks are highly rate-sensitive because they rely on long-term growth projections and often trade at elevated valuations.
If inflation remains sticky – and the Federal Reserve doesn’t have the data to confirm otherwise – it may choose to delay or cancel a rate cut at its December meeting.
That would keep borrowing costs high, pressuring tech firms that depend on cheap capital for innovation and expansion.
Moreover, the lack of CPI data means investors can’t assess real-time consumer price trends, which are crucial for forecasting Fed behavior.
In this vacuum, traders are leaning on private surveys and alternative indicators, many of which suggest cooling demand but persistent inflation.
That ambiguity is toxic for AI stocks, which need clear macro signals to justify their premium multiples.
Until the Fed regains full visibility, the sector may remain under pressure – regardless of shutdown resolution.
Bottom line
The US government shutdown may be over, but the missing macroeconomic data has left AI stocks in limbo.
Without unemployment and inflation reports, the path forward for rate policy – and tech valuations remains murky.
Until investors regain access to reliable economic indicators, volatility in high-growth sectors like AI and quantum computing is likely to persist, with sentiment driven more by speculation than substance.
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