Stock futures plunged and gold rocketed to fresh all-time highs on Wednesday after the government shutdown took hold at midnight.
Wall Street traders scrambled to hedge against wider fallout for an already fragile economy if the federal stoppage - the first since 2018 - drags on.
Dow futures slid 200 points, while S&P and Nasdaq contracts dropped about 0.5 percent.
Gold notched a record for the third straight session, climbing to $3,895 an ounce, while Bitcoin also advanced as investors sought safe-haven assets. Treasuries and the U.S. dollar were little changed.