Wall St. ends up lifted by healthcare as investors shrug off US shutdown

WALL STREET’s main stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with the biggest boost from the healthcare sector, as investors looked past weaker-than-expected private payrolls data and uncertainty around the first day of the US federal government shutdown.

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With the Labor Department's September jobs report expected to be postponed if the government has not reopened by Friday, investors were paying close attention to the ADP National Employment Report.

ADP showed a decline in private payrolls of 32,000 and a downwardly revised 3,000 decline in August. These numbers were weaker than economist forecasts for growth of 50,000 in September and the prior report of a 54,000 advance in August.

Elsewhere in economic data, the Institute for Supply Management showed US manufacturing edged toward recovery in September.

After opening lower, all three main US indexes advanced. Among the S&P 500’s 1] major industry sectors, the biggest gainer was S&P 500 healthcare, boosted by pharmaceutical companies.