The ongoing government shutdown prevented the Bureau of Labor Statistics from releasing its September jobs report Friday, but job growth appears to be softening. The lack of reliable government data comes as the Federal Reserve mulls further interest rate cuts. 

The Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would defer President Donald Trump's request for a stay until after oral arguments scheduled for January 2026, allowing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to remain on the board at least until then.

In a unanimous vote, the Board of Governors moved to lower Morgan Stanley's stress capital buffer requirement to 4.3%, down from a preliminary 5.1% based on this year's stress test results.

But even if global financial crisis 2.0 doesn't come, investors may well be in for a rough ride in the coming months as frothy financial markets come to terms with a cyclical slowdown.

Bank reserves fell by about $21 billion to $2,999.7 trillion in the week through Sept. 24, according to Fed data released on Thursday. That's the lowest level since the week through Jan. 1.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a speech Tuesday that the central bank's policy stance is "modestly restrictive," a stance that will give the central bank flexibility to react to an uncertain economic future.

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in a speech Tuesday that steeper interest rate cuts should be on the table if the labor market continues to show signs of decline.

President Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling allowing Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook to remain in office pending the outcome of her lawsuit challenging Trump's move to fire her late last month.

The pressure from President Donald Trump and his allies on the Fed to slash interest rates underscores the need to retain credibility on fighting inflation, the former Treasury chief added.

The Federal Open Market Committee's decision to reduce interest rates for the first time in nine months lifted bank stocks Wednesday. The 25-basis-point reduction could lead to net interest income headwinds now, but loan growth later, analysts said.