The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Wall Street's main stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday despite the uncertainty around the first day of the U.S. federal government shutdown. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says Canada's main stock index also gained and closed at another record high, thanks in part to gold's continued rally. With the Labor Department's September jobs report in the U.S. expected to be postponed if the government has not reopened by Friday, investors were paying close attention to the ADP National Employment Report. ADP showed a decline in private payrolls of 32,000 and a downwardly revised 3,000 decline in August. Among the S&P 500's 11 major industry sectors, the biggest gainer was S&P 500 health care, boosted by pharmaceutical companies. The health care rally follows Pfizer and President Donald Trump cutting a deal. The S&P/TSX Composite Index ended up 84.86 points at 30,107.67. Toronto's materials sector gained 0.9 per cent as gold extended its record-setting run. A U.S. government shutdown added to gold's safe-haven appeal, together with the softer U.S. jobs data that reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further this month.