Wall St. indexes close higher with quarterly and monthly gains

Wall Street's three major indexes managed to close Tuesday’s choppy session higher, marking quarterly and monthly gains, even as investors braced for a US government shutdown, which would delay key economic reports and muddy the US Federal Reserve's interest rate policy outlook.

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With investors having bet for some time on a spate of further Fed rate cuts, the benchmark S&P 500, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the Dow all gained for the second quarter in a row. For the S&P 500 and the Dow, it also marked their fifth straight monthly gain while the Nasdaq registered its sixth straight monthly gain.

And with no signs of an end to the standoff in Washington, US President Donald J. Trump warned congressional Democrats that a federal government shutdown at midnight would allow his administration to take “irreversible” actions including shutting down programs important to them. While previous shutdowns have had a limited impact on markets, some analysts warned that this time could be more disruptive, given the delicate economic backdrop.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Labor Department report showed job openings increased marginally in August, while hiring and layoffs declined. Another data point showed US consumer confidence declined more than expected in September.