Trump signs funding bill to end longest US government shutdown in history

U.S. stock futures edged lower late Wednesday, giving back some steam after the Dow hit fresh highs, powered by a continued shift away from tech and into value sectors. Dow futures dropped 26 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.

Investors are still digesting the end of the shutdown and what it means for Fed policy and broader market momentum. The rotation, with health care and other value stocks leading, suggests growing caution around high-flying tech names, even as the broader rally holds.

Currency markets saw bigger moves overnight.

The yen plunged to a record 179.50 per euro, before slightly rebounding, after Japan’s new prime minister said the Bank of Japan should slow down on rate hikes.

Against the dollar, the yen slid to 155.02, barely above its lowest point since February. It was last seen around 154.66.

Elsewhere, the Aussie dollar climbed 0.3% to $0.6563, hitting its strongest level in two weeks off better-than-expected jobs data.

Meanwhile, British sterling slipped to $1.3123, hit by soft labor data and rumors of internal moves to oust PM Keir Starmer, all ahead of GDP figures due later today.

Asian markets mostly climbed Thursday, riding the global relief rally after Donald Trump signed the funding bill to end the record-long U.S. government shutdown — but not everyone joined the party.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged up 0.13%, and the Topix jumped 0.62% to hit a record high.

But the real story was SoftBank, whose shares plunged over 5% for a second straight day after the company confirmed it dumped its entire $5.8 billion Nvidia stake in October to fund its OpenAI investment.

The selloff is still rattling investors still bullish on Nvidia’s AI future.

Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi held flat, while the Kosdaq rose 0.79%. In Australia, the ASX 200 dropped 1.01% after October unemployment unexpectedly eased to 4.3%, beating forecasts and dampening hopes for a near-term rate cut. The Australian dollar climbed to 0.6556 on the news.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.66%, while China’s CSI 300 rose 0.95%, buoyed by optimism that the U.S. reopening could stabilize global trade. India’s Nifty 50 dipped 0.12% in early trading.

Just minutes after Donald Trump signed the bill to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget issued a formal memo telling federal workers to return to the job.

“Employees who were on furlough due to the absence of appropriations should be directed to return to work on November 13,” the memo reads. Agencies were told to ensure offices open “promptly and orderly” starting Thursday morning.

That order affects a massive chunk of the federal workforce, roughly 670,000 people who’ve spent weeks without pay or clarity. Now, they’ll finally clock back in and start unwinding the backlog caused by 43 days of political gridlock.

Right before putting pen to paper to end the six-week government shutdown, Donald Trump used his Oval Office moment to throw a curveball back at the Senate, urging Republicans to kill the filibuster once and for all.

“If we had the filibuster terminated, this would never happen again,” Trump said. “We can never let this happen again.” He reminded the public that January 30 is now the next funding deadline, and warned that gridlock could return if the rules stay the same.

Just last week, Trump hosted Senate Republicans for breakfast, pushing them to scrap the filibuster then, but even with a fresh shutdown behind them, he still hasn’t convinced them to pull the trigger.

At the same time, Trump opened the door to working with Democrats, pivoting to health care reform just minutes before signing the bill.

“I’m always willing to work with anyone, including the other party,” he said. “We’ll work on something having to do with health care. We can do a lot better.”

It’s official. The shutdown is over. At exactly 9:45 p.m. ET, Donald Trump signed the government funding bill, ending the most drawn-out shutdown in U.S. history. The signing came just minutes after the House voted to pass the deal, with nearly every Republican backing it and a few Democrats crossing the aisle.

The bill sets up a new funding cliff on January 30, but some of the most critical agencies, the ones that got hit hardest during this shutdown, are now fully funded through fiscal year 2026, insulating them from the next fight.

But if anyone thought this would be a quiet victory lap, Trump had other plans.

Sitting behind the Resolute Desk, flanked by Speaker Mike Johnson and his GOP allies, Trump used the moment to fire the first shot in the 2026 midterm election war. “You should not forget this,” he said directly to the camera. “Don’t forget what they’ve done to our country.”

He wasn’t done. Trump then called for insurance companies to be cut out entirely, suggesting federal money should go straight to the people instead. “We’ll work on something having to do with health care,” he said. “We can do a lot better.”

Right after the House passed the funding bill, Speaker Mike Johnson said he was “very angry” about a last-minute provision quietly slipped into the Senate’s version that would let senators retroactively sue the Justice Department for looking into their phone records.

Johnson told reporters he spoke directly to Majority Leader John Thune, who he called a “trustworthy, honest broker,” which made the move sting even more.

“We had no idea. That was dropped in at the last minute,” Johnson said. “I did not appreciate that, nor did most of the House members.”

He wasn’t the only Republican pissed off.

Rep. Troy Nehls called it straight-up “stupid” and told CNN he wants the language stripped out next week. Johnson backed that idea and said he plans to bring a fix to the floor early next week and expects the Senate to “follow suit.”

The White House confirmed Wednesday night that Donald Trump will sign the funding bill on camera from the Oval Office at 9:45 p.m. ET, officially bringing the longest shutdown in U.S. history to an end… assuming the House passes it first.

Originally, Trump was set to hold a private dinner at 7:30 p.m., with some press access. That plan’s now scrapped.

Instead, cameras will be allowed into the Oval Office for the signing, which has been added to his public schedule, a rare move for this administration.

Earlier in the day, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dropped a hint during the daily briefing, teasing that reporters might see Trump later if things went according to plan.

Stock futures dipped slightly Wednesday night, just as investors watched Capitol Hill inch toward ending the six-week shutdown.

The Dow futures slipped 38 points, S&P 500 dropped 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost about 0.3%, as traders braced for the House to finally act.

The market’s been rotating hard; tech stocks have cooled off, while value plays like health care are climbing, meaning investors are shifting away from risk.

And it’s mostly about Washington paralysis. Because of the shutdown, investors have been flying blind. Key economic data like the October jobs report and inflation numbers have been frozen, adding uncertainty to already shaky sentiment.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned earlier today that some of those reports might never be released, and the administration says the shutdown could cut Q4 GDP by as much as 2 percentage points, though most economists aren’t expecting that much damage.

The House just cleared the first big hurdle toward ending the shutdown, advancing the Senate-backed funding deal in a narrow 213–209 vote.

Every single Democrat voted no, while 213 Republicans held the line to adopt the rule that sets up debate.

Now, lawmakers are locked into about an hour of floor debate, where they’ll air last-minute grievances and jockey for soundbites. But after that, it’s game time. A final vote on the full bill is coming next, and if it passes, the government could officially reopen within hours.

House leaders now say the vote to pass the funding bill will likely happen between 7:45 and 8:15 p.m., according to Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s office, though that could change if debate runs long.

The FAA just reported nine staffing shortages at air traffic control towers today, nearly double the number from Tuesday, though not as chaotic as the 63 outages on Saturday.

These controllers are still showing up because they’re classified as essential, but they haven’t been paid in over six weeks.

If the government doesn’t reopen soon, things are going to get worse… fast. Starting Friday, airlines are being forced to cut 10% of flights at 40 major airports, something the Department of Transportation says won’t be reversed until staffing levels are safe again.

So while lawmakers argue over the bill, passengers nationwide are bracing for even more disruption, all because of a shutdown that’s dragged on far too long.