04:10 PM EDT, 09/29/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were higher on Monday, backed by gains in major tech stocks and a decline in government bond yields.

* Scotiabank said the main calendar-based risk this week is the potential US government shutdown, which could begin Wednesday if funding talks fail ahead of Friday's September non-farm payrolls report. President Donald Trump is set to meet with congressional leaders from both parties on Monday to negotiate an extension as a shutdown would delay the release of key economic data.

* Pending home sales rose 4% in August, beating expectations for no change based on a Bloomberg survey, and reversing a 0.3% decline in July, the National Association of Realtors reported; the monthly sales index was also up 3.8% from a year earlier.

* November West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $2.54 to settle at $63.19 per barrel, while November Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $2.47 to $67.66.

* Western Digital ( WDC ) shares were up about 8.8% after Morgan Stanley increased its price target on the data storage products maker's stock.

* MoonLake Immunotherapeutics ( MLTX ) shares dropped roughly 90% after releasing late-stage trial data for its hidradenitis suppurativa treatment, which led multiple analysts to downgrade the stock.