US STOCKS-US stock futures fall as government shutdown clouds interest

* Futures down: Dow 0.49%, S&P 500 0.55%, Nasdaq 0.63% (Updates prices) Oct 1 (Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures slid on Wednesday as investors assessed the fallout from the federal government shutdown, which threatens to delay key economic data and muddy the central bank's policy-easing plans. The risk-off sentiment reflects investor unease over what analysts have warned could be a prolonged impasse, driven by deep partisan divisions in Washington. Markets are leaning heavily into hopes of a dovish Fed policy to sustain the rally that led equities to their second straight quarter of gains on Tuesday. "While a government shutdown is disruptive in its own ways, now isn't exactly the time that investors or the Fed want to lose access to key economic data points," said Bret Kenwell, U.S. in