Wall Street poised to open lower as markets brace for a possible US government shutdown

Wall Street poised to open lower as markets brace for a possible US government shutdown Updated 7 mins ago Wall Street followed global markets lower as a partisan standoff over heath care and spending pushed the United States closer to federal government shutdown. Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each fell 0.2% before the bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.3%. If Democrats and Republicans in Congress are unable to come to an agreement to extend federal funding, the government will shut down on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. In equities trading, shares of EchoStar Corp. surged close to 9% on media reports that Verizon is in talks to acquire some of the telecom company’s spectrum licenses for 5G use.