© Reuters. A man wearing a face mask walks in front of a stock rating panel outside a Tokyo brokerage
By Tom Westbrook
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Stock futures faltered and commodities fell on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump threw a last-minute key into pandemic relief plans, though Asian stocks rose as traders watched fears on a new infectious strain of coronavirus.
In a video posted on Twitter, Trump said that a stimulus bill, agreed after months of fighting in Congress, is “a shame” and that he wants to increase the “ridiculously small” checks of $ 600 for individuals. at $ 2,000.
The possibility of delaying such long-awaited and struggling spending plans fell by up to 1% below Tuesday’s close of the index, although they recovered to about 0.3% below closing.
futures contracts fell 0.2% and EuroSTOXX 50 futures fell 0.1%, while oil futures fell 1.5% to re-test Monday’s lows when worries about coronavirus led to a sudden sale.
Treasuries also got a bid, with the US Treasury’s ten-year ten-year futures rising in the Asian session and the yield on 10-year US government bonds fell one basis point.
“We personally believe that the president will sign the bill at the last possible moment,” Andrew Brenner, head of fixed international income at NatAlliance, said in an emailed note following Trump’s message.
“But the real star of reality will wait until the end,” he said. “The bond markets close on Thursday at 14:00, while the shares close at 13:00 – they may fall until the last minute.”
Some traders said Trump’s effort to stimulate more could lead to increased spending.
The bill could be changed if congressional leadership wants to do so, and if not, Trump’s election is to sign the bill, veto it or do nothing, and let it become law.
Incentive funds are needed as recovery stalls in the US and hospitals are struggling to cope with a nationwide rise in infections, along with an even more contagious variant of the coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly in England.
The US dollar clung to Tuesday’s gains in the thin trade, although signs that a small virus outbreak in Sydney could be limited gave the Australian dollar a small boost. [AUD/]
Asian stock markets gained broad, albeit uneven, gains as investors focused on domestic economic strengths.
The broadest MSCI index of Asia-Pacific equities outside of Japan fell three days, down 0.6%, driven by rising electric vehicle stocks in South Korea and China, after LG Electronics announced a production agreement.
Technology and healthcare stocks rose 0.3% more, and Australian stocks rose 0.7%, although volumes were fairly light. [.T][.AX]
With a handful of trading days remaining in 2020, investors are still wondering whether the UK and the European Union can agree on a post-Brexit trade deal and what the new virus strain will have on vaccinations.
ITV The political editor (LON 🙂 said in a late night tweet that separate sources raised the possibility of Britain and the European Union reaching a trade deal on Wednesday.
The pound rose above $ 1.3400 in Asia and was last at $ 1.3406 and 90.88 pence bought a euro. It was flat at 90,465.
futures fell 1.5 percent to $ 49.34 a barrel, and futures fell 1.5 percent to $ 46.33. [O/R]
Gold suffered losses after Tuesday’s dollar gains and was largely constant at $ 1,864 an ounce. [GOL/]