Stocks plunge and gold soars to new all-time highs as government shutdown sparks market fears

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.