US equity futures were trending lower on Wednesday after the US federal government shut down for the first time in seven years as Republicans and Democrats failed to secure a temporary spending bell, news outlets reported.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each declined 0.5% in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq was off 0.6%.
The shut down began after the US Senate rejected a short-term spending plan that could have kept government operations running until Nov. 21, according to a Reuters report.
The government shutdown could affect economic activity, with agencies warning that it would halt the release of a September employment report, slow air travel, withhold pay from U.S. troops and lead to the furlough of 750,000 federal workers, Reuters reported.
