The US President criticized the aid plan approved by Congress and urged lawmakers to raise payments to the public
Wall Street equities finished mostly lower on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 stock index closing lower for the third day in a row while the Nasdaq Composite ended at a new record despite the prevailing risk aversion. The selling pressure prevailed amid concerns over a new strain of coronavirus in the U.K. and other countries that shifted market focus onto the economic outlook for 2021.
On the data front, a final reading of U.S. gross domestic product in the third quarter came in slightly stronger than expected, at an annualized growth rate of 33.4%. As a result, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.67%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.5%.
Today in Asia, stocks were marginally higher despite President Donald Trump suggested he may veto a $900-billion economic aid package. He criticized the aid plan approved by Congress and urged lawmakers to raise payments to the public.
Meanwhile, the emergence of a new coronavirus strain in Britain has prompted some 40 countries to ban travelers from Britain. Still, China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.76% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.8%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.33% after the Bank of Japan’s minutes for the October meeting minutes showed that most members said the central bank’s range of steps to ease corporate funding strains exerting intended effects.
European equities opened marginally higher on Wednesday, as investors shrugged off Trump’s disapproval of a long-delayed U.S. coronavirus stimulus package. On the negative side, the ongoing Brexit uncertainty (disagreements over fishing rights remain) coupled with concerns over the new coronavirus strain cap gains in the regional markets in pre-Christmas trading.
As for currencies, the dollar is back on the defensive after a short-lived recovery seen on Tuesday. EURUSD, however, struggles below 1.2200 while GBPUSD is flirting with the 20-DMA around 1.3400. USDJPY is clinging to the 103.50 area ahead of a series of US economic data due later today.
