US Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq Pare Opening Losses To Trade Flat Amid Govt Shutdown Jitters

Wall Street benchmarks pared their opening losses to trade largely unchanged on Wednesday, with investor sentiment dampened as the US government shutdown threatens a blackout in economic reports that are crucial to the the central bank's operations on the monetary policy front.

The political deadlock in Washington, which halted all but essential federal services after Congress missed its midnight funding deadline, is disrupting the release of key economic data.

With government offices closed, investors will not get updates this week on jobless claims, factory orders, or September's hiring report — figures that typically guide Wall Street's forecasts for growth and the Federal Reserve's next policy moves. The absence of these signals is expected to heighten volatility across asset classes.

As of 8:40 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 0.02% lower, the S&P 500 was also down 0.02% while Nasdaq bucked the trend to rise 0.01%.

Six of the 11 sectoral indices was trading in green. Communications sector led the decline, while the healthcare sector led the advancing sectors.

Nike, Pfizer and Tesla were amongst the gainers for the day. On the other hand, Meta Platforms and Amazon were trading in the red.

Prices have soared to an all-time high near $4,000 per ounce and are expected to retain their shine if the impasse drags on. As of 8:35 p.m., the metal is trading 0.38% at $3,873.29.

Crude oil prices slipped, with the West Texas trading 0.80% lower at $61.87 per barrel.

The Bloomberg Dollar Index fell 0.17%, with the British Pound rising 0.36% at 1.3497 euros and the Japanese yen down to 146.92 per dollar. Bitcoin, the largest traded cryptocurrency saw an advance to $117,380.3300.

As the US market opened, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 121 points or 0.26%, the S&P 500 was also down 0.47% while Nasdaq fell 0.59% or nearly 134 points.