Wall Street stocks slid on Wednesday as the US government started to shut down after Democrats and President Donald Trump failed to break a deadlock over spending.

The prospect of services in the United States being closed pushed gold to another record high over $3,895.

The blue-chip Dow gave up 0.2 percent in opening deals, the broader S&P 500 shed 0.4 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6 percent.

“There have been previous shutdowns, and typically these have had little effect on financial markets. But much depends on how long the shutdown lasts,” said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.

“Given the current intransigence on both sides, there’s a possibility that federal services could be curtailed for some time,” he said.

Government operations began grinding to

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