Stock futures rose Monday after a sizable regional bank merger spurred enthusiasm a bigger M&A wave is on the way and as AMD shares surged on a partnership with OpenAI. The market continued to grind higher even as a government shutdown dragged on into a second week. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 76 points, or 0.2%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.8%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are coming off their fourth weekly advance in five weeks, rising 1.1% and 1.3%, respectively. The Dow rose for the third time in four weeks, advancing 1.1%. AMD shares jumped more than 30% in early trading after reaching a deal with Sam Altman’s AI leader that could ultimately end up giving the ChatGPT company a 10% stake in the chipmaker via a warrant with different tranches. AMD will use certain graphics processing units rolled out over multiple years. Nvidia, AMD’s main competitor in graphics processors, came under pressure in the premarket following that announcement. Comerica shares rallied 14% after Fifth Third Bancorp reached a deal to buy the fellow regional bank for $10.9 billion in an all-stock transaction. The merger will form the ninth-largest U.S. bank by assets. The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF jumped 1% in early trading on expectations more deals were ahead in the space. Overall M&A has been picking up, adding to the animal spirits seen in the stock market this year. Investors shrugged off worries about the shutdown after lawmakers once again failed to reach a deal on funding to keep the government open. The shutdown delayed the release of key economic data — including the September jobs report — which was originally due Friday. “As of now, the stock market is shrugging off the government shutdown, and is more focused on earnings optimism and the prospect of additional Federal Reserve rate cuts,” said Robert Edwards, chief investment officer at Edwards Asset Management. “Stocks tend to brush off government shutdowns as ‘Beltway blah blah blah’. Government shutdowns used to last for days, but now they can last for weeks, so investors may need to be patient.” “We would consider any notable market dip from the shutdown as an ‘Investor Prime Day’ shopping opportunity,” he continued. “Even with the government shutdown and worries about the labor market, we believe the S&P 500 is on track to cross 7,000 by year-end.” Despite the data blackout, several Federal Reserve officials are slated to speak this week, including Fed Governor Stephen Miran on Wednesday and Chair Jerome Powell on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index jumped over 4% to hit a record high Monday after the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected staunch conservative Sanae Takaichi as its new leader Saturday, positioning her to become the country’s first female prime minister. The index closed 4.75% higher to end the trading day at 47,944.76. Similarly, the Topix rose as much as 3.1% to hit an all-time high, ending at 3,226.06.Australia’s ASX/S&P 200 closed flat at 8,981.4. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.22%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index declined 0.66%. Chinese and South Korean markets were closed for holidays. Oil prices rose more than 1% on Monday after OPEC+’s planned production increase for November was more modest than expected, tempering some concerns about supply additions, though a soft outlook for demand is likely to cap near-term gains. Brent crude futures climbed 80 cents, or 1.2%, to $65.33 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $61.64, up 76 cents, or about 1.3%. “The market was expecting a somewhat larger increase from OPEC+ as shown in the structure last week,” said Janiv Shah, an analyst at Rystad. Gold prices touched an all-time high on Monday, soaring above the $3,900-per-ounce level, as investors flocked to safe-haven bullion amid the U.S. government shutdown, broader economic uncertainty, and prospects of further Federal Reserve rate cuts. Spot gold was up 1.3% at $3,938.43 per ounce, after hitting $3,949.34 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures for December delivery climbed 1.4% to $3,962.70.