Stocks mixed, gold hits record as US government shuts down

Wall Street and the dollar stumbled on Wednesday, while gold struck a record high as the U.S. government shut down much of its operations, delaying the release of crucial jobs data which could muddy the interest rate outlook.

U.S. private payrolls data that showed employment fell by 32,000 last month, bucking expectations for a 50,000 gain, added to concerns that the U.S. labour market might be weakening.

While weak employment data would typically add to bets on interest rate cuts that could support equity markets, the outlook is muddied this week by the government shutdown.

The U.S. Labor Department's more comprehensive and closely-followed employment report for September will not be published on Friday due to the shutdown, an outcome that investors said would complicate the Federal Reserve's ability to assess U.S. economic health as it weighs potential rate cuts.

"However you want to look at it ... it’s a weakening labour market and the Fed is likely to continue on their cutting path through year-end in our view," said Matthew Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments in Boston. "Not having other data points does make this harder for the Fed."

With no clear path out of the impasse over a funding deal, agencies warned the government shutdown would lead to the furlough of 750,000 federal workers at a daily cost of $400 million.

The S&P 500  lost 0.2%, the Nasdaq Composite  fell 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average  was flat. Wall Street's lethargic performance kept the MSCI All-World index  unchanged.

Amid the uncertainty, gold prices climbed to $3,895 an ounce, hitting a record high for a third straight session, while the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points to 4.1097%.