Stock Futures Fall, Gold Sets New Record High as US Government Shuts Down

Stock futures pointed lower and safe-haven gold surged to a new record high Wednesday after lawmakers in Congress failed to pass a measure keeping the U.S. government funded by a midnight deadline.

Futures associated with the benchmark S&P 500, tech-heavy Nasdaq, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.5%, 0.5%, and 0.4%, respectively. The three major stock indexes ended higher for a third straight session Tuesday, with the Dow closing at a record high.

Gold futures rose 1% to about $3,910 after earlier Wednesday touching a record $3,922.70. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, ticked lower to 97.73, while the 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to about 4.14% from 4.15% Tuesday. Bitcoin advanced 1.8% to about $116,400, while oil futures slipped 0.4% to $62.15.

The midnight deadline came and went without Congress passing a measure to keep the government open, as Republicans and Democrats in Congress are at a standoff over healthcare funding. As a result, hundreds of thousands of federal workers likely will stay home without pay for the time being, and some government offices will be closed. The shutdown could also delay the release of crucial economic data, including Friday’s report on the job market from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In corporate news, Nike (NKE) shares rose 3% in premarket trading after the sneaker giant surprisingly recorded a quarterly sales increase; Lithium Americas (LAC) stock popped 30% on news the U.S. government will take a stake in the Canadian company and its Nevada mining project; and Docusign (DOCU) shares, which sank 12% yesterday on news OpenAI is launching a competing product called DocuGPT, were down modestly further before the bell.

Also, Pfizer (PFE) stock edged further higher a day after surging nearly 7% to pace the S&P 500 as it announced lower prices on several medications in the U.S. with President Trump at the White House. U.S.-listed shares of European drugmakers AstraZeneca (AZN) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) were up about 4.5% and 1%, respectively, after Trump also revealed plans to launch a website for consumers to purchase drugs from manufacturers at a discount, helping provide clarity for the industry after the president had sent a letter over the summer urging pharma firms to lower costs for Americans.