** Shares of consultancy and IT software company International Business Machines IBM.N fall 3.2% to $244.27
** Rival Accenture ACN.N said the Trump administration's efforts to reduce federal spending have led to delays and cancellations of new contracts
** U.S. President Donald Trump will sign a long-anticipated executive order on Thursday that aims to shut down the Department of Education
** IBM offers AI solutions to various federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Education
** IBM did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment
** As of last close, IBM was up ~15% YTD
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru)
((Jaspreet.Singh@thomsonreuters.com ; https://twitter.com/i_jass))