The US markets ended lower on Thursday as investors begun to express concerns about the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, which entered its ninth day with no end in sight. Lawmakers in Washington continue to struggle to pass a temporary funding bill due in part to Democrats' demands that the legislation include an extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits. Traders also reacted to Fed Governor Michael Barr’s remarks on monetary policy. He said that the central bank should move ‘cautiously’ due to considerable uncertainty about the future course of the economy. He added that if the Fed sees inflation moving further away from its target, then it may be necessary to keep policy at least modestly restrictive for longer.

On sectoral front, significant weakness has been seen in gold stocks with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunging by 4.5 percent as the price of the precious metal gave back ground after soaring to record highs. Besides, energy stocks saw considerable weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil, moving notably lower along computer hardware and transportation stocks.

Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 243.36 points or 0.52 percent to 46,358.42, Nasdaq edged down 18.75 points or 0.08 percent to 23,024.63 and S&P 500 fell 18.61 points or 0.28 percent to 6,735.11.