There was a report suggesting a $2-trillion spending on the way
US stocks were mixed on Wednesday as investors awaited news on another round of stimulus support from the government. Meanwhile, the House voted 232 to 197 to impeach President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection. As such, Trump has become the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.03%, the S&P 500 rose 0.23%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.43%.
Asian equities were mostly higher on Thursday amid expectations of additional U.S. stimulus from the incoming Biden administration as well as comments from the head of the Federal Reserve on its policy outlook, while the news that Trump had been impeached for a historic second time appeared to have little immediate impact on investor sentiment. As such, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.85%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong edged 0.93%, South Korea’s Kospi was flat. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4% and the Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.91% despite exports grew by 18.1% from a year earlier while trade surplus rose to a record US$78.18 billion in December.
European stocks opened in a mixed fashion today, and it looks like the session will be quiet unless investors hear more from Biden’s proposal. Earlier, there was a report suggesting a $2-trillion spending on the way. Upbeat Chinese export data boosted sentiment somehow, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index rising 0.3% early in the session.
Elsewhere, oil prices climbed to nearly one-year highs around $57.40 but failed to preserve gains and retreated marginally, finishing just below the $56 handle. Despite the correction, sentiment in the oil market remains buoyed by Saudi Arabia’s oil output cuts. Besides, traders continue to bet stimulus and vaccines would fuel an economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a report on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels during the week ending January 8. On the negative side, total motor gasoline inventories increased by 4.4 million while distillate fuel inventories increased by 4.8 million barrels last week.
