Strawberry Blonde's Market Summary: U.S. Government Shutdown Looms...$7.8 Trillion at Stake

* See UPDATES below...

As Democrats threaten to shut down the government at midnight tonight (Friday) without passing the 2018 budget, $7.8 Trillion hangs in the balance (gains made since the 2016 Presidential election).

The following monthly charts show prices of the Dow 30, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite Indices as at 12:15 pm ET today, with the blue horizontal line marking election-day prices.

A lot of investments (including pension funds and 401K accounts) in the U.S. stock markets are at stake...stay tuned for what market chaos may await next Monday.

If only my ancient crystal ball had come with automatic upgrades...👀

Source: ZeroHedge.com

* UPDATE @ market close...

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Comp, and even the Russell 2000, made new all-time high closes today, while the Dow 30 closed at its high of the day (just 44.13 points shy of its all-time closing high), as shown on the following daily charts.

Midnight approaches with no deal struck in the Senate yet...

* UPDATE January 20 (just minutes after midnight)...

And, so a shutdown begins, as Democrats voted against a bill to continue funding government spending...there's no indication as to when this might be resolved.

It's interesting to note that members of Congress do, however, continue to receive their pay during these shutdown events.

U.S. stock market reaction should be "interesting" on Monday.

Welcome to your first year in office, Mr. President!