Here’s why gold and Bitcoin are surging as US stocks falter

U.S. stocks opened lower today as Wall Street weighed the immediate impact of the U.S. government’s official shutdown, and as the dollar slipped, gold and Bitcoin soared.

Summary

US stocks wavered as U.S. government officially shut down on Wednesday
ADP data shows private payrolls declined by 32,000 in September, with this a key report for investors eyeing Federal Reserve rate cuts
Gold rallied to a record high and Bitcoin broke above $116,890 as safe havens gained.

Wall Street traded lower as the first official government shutdown in seven years began, with investors showing some jitters, helping push the Dow Jones Industrial Average down. The blue-chip index was down 80 points.

Meanwhile, uncertainty around the economy also meant the benchmark S&P 500 fell 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.6%.

US stocks falter

Stocks had closed higher in September, despite notable slips in the last week of the month, with the S&P 500 ending the period up 4.5%. The Dow edged 2.4% higher, while the Nasdaq climbed more than 6% across the month.

However, with the gridlock in Washington bringing another pause in government funding and set to see federal agencies cease operations, investors have shown concern. The S&P 500 slipped on Tuesday.

A lot of this is due to worries about what happens to scheduled releases of key macroeconomic data.

ADP private payrolls fall by 32k

Among government agencies set to freeze operations is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which was expected to release the U.S. jobs report for September on Friday.

The uncertainty now puts the just-released ADP private payrolls report under greater scrutiny in the market. Notably, the ADP data showed private payrolls fell in September, missing estimates. Per the report, the private sector lost 32,000 jobs, against an expected gain of 50,000.