Dow Jones Futures fall as US government's closure grips markets.

• US equity markets are expected to open wth losses amid the federal government's shutdown.
• Dow Jones futures trade 0.7% lower, near the 46,100 level during the European morning session.
• The focus today is on the ADP employment Report that is expected to show a mild increase in employment.

Dow Jones Index futures are trading lower on Wednesday, retreating to levels right above the 46.000 level, with investors wary of risk after the US federal government confirmed its shutdown earlier in the day.

Wall Street Indexes are set to open in the red on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Index futures trade 0.7% lower on the day, at 46,100, at the time of writing. The S&P 500 drops another 0.7%, to 6,635, while the Nasdaq futures fall nearly 1% to the 24,450 area.

The US federal government confirmed the worst expectations and closed earlier on Wednesday, as a last-minute vote in the Senate failed to bring the positions of Democrats and Republicans closer regarding the budget funding.

The shutdown is not expected to have a significant economic impact unless it is a protracted one, but is likely to keep investors on a cautious mode. The Labour and the Commerce Departments have already announced that they will halt their analysis, including Friday's Nonfarm Payrolls report, a key data point for the Fed's rate-setting debate.

Some labour data, however, will be released this week. On Tuesday, the JOLTS Job Openings showed a slight increase to 7.22 million in August, from 7.20 million in July, although the lower hiring rate kept market concerns of a weakening labour market intact.

The main focus today will be on the US ADP Employment report, which is expected too show a net increase of 50K private payrolls in September, down from 54K in August and less than half the average of beyond 100K seen last year and at the beginning of the current one.