Wall Street stocks shrugged off early losses on Wednesday as the US government started to shut down after Democrats and President Donald Trump failed to break a deadlock over spending.

The prospect of services in the United States being

While Wall Street's indices slid at the opening bell, they recovered during the morning session, with the Dow showing a small gain.

"There have been previous shutdowns, and typically these have had little effect on financial markets. But much depends on how long the shutdown lasts," said David Morrison, analyst at Trade Nation.

"Given the current intransigence on both sides, there's a possibility that federal services could be curtailed for some time," he said.

US government operations began grinding to a halt at 12:01 am (0401 GMT) Wednesday after Re

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