FX.co ★ US Futures Drop as Government Shuts Down

On Wednesday, U.S. stock futures experienced a decline, with contracts on the three major indices decreasing by approximately 0.4%. This downturn followed the onset of the federal government's first shutdown in almost seven years, which occurred due to Republicans and Democrats being unable to agree on a temporary funding measure. As a result of this deadlock, around 750,000 federal employees are set to be furloughed, leading to an estimated $400 million per day in lost wages, as reported by the Congressional Budget Office. Additionally, essential government services will be halted, which will delay the release of significant economic data, such as the much-anticipated jobs report scheduled for Friday. In a related development, ADP figures revealed that the U.S. private sector unexpectedly lost 32,000 jobs in September, following a downward revision showing a loss of 3,000 jobs in August. This contradicts the forecasted addition of 50,000 jobs and indicates a more pronounced cooling of the labor market than anticipated. Major banks saw declines in premarket trading, with JPMorgan (-0.7%), Bank of America (-0.5%), and Citigroup (-0.8%) all affected by concerns over an economic slowdown.