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| - World stock markets trod water Wednesday after President Donald Trump called off talks on a US stimulus package, while nevertheless urging lawmakers to agree on handouts for struggling Americans and help for small businesses. Europe's top indices mostly dipped approaching the half-way mark after an uneventful day in Tokyo. The dollar traded mixed and oil prices dropped once more after bumper gains this week. "Following Tuesday's decision by Trump to abruptly end stimulus talks until after the elections, stocks and other risk sensitive assets sold off sharply," noted Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at ThinkMarkets. "However, there was no follow through overnight." Razaqzada said "there was a sense of calm after Tuesday's sharp spike in volatility, but it remains to be seen how the markets will behave once Wall Street opens" Wednesday. Trump halted discussions just as lawmakers appeared to be making progress after months of haggling, sparking a sell-off Tuesday on Wall Street that had been rallying on hopes for a breakthrough to help the beleaguered economy. Just hours earlier, Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell had warned that failure to reach an agreement would cause "unnecessary hardship" for Americans, while analysts said it would have a major impact on the crucial consumer sector that is the major driver of growth. There was hope for some form of help for struggling Americans, however, when Trump tweeted he would immediately sign a Congressional bill guaranteeing a second round of $1,200 handouts and $135 billion for small businesses -- which were already included in the negotiations. He also urged lawmakers to approve $25 billion to support the floundering aviation industry. "So there is still some stimulus perhaps coming before the election," said Ben Emons, at Medley Global Advisors. "That is removing the angst from the Trump tweet earlier that no further negotiations about the stimulus package would take place." Focus was also on the pound as negotiations between the EU and Britain on their post-Brexit relationship resume in London on Wednesday. Regarding the coronavirus pandemic, Brussels took a step towards restoring its lockdown with the closure of cafes and bars for one month. London - FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 5,962.13 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.3 percent at 12,870.71 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,891.09 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,229.30 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.1 percent at 23,422.82 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.1 percent at 24,242.86 (close) Shanghai - Composite: Closed for a holiday New York - Dow Jones: DOWN 1.3 percent at 27,772.76 (close) Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1761 from $1.1733 at 2100 GMT Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2864 from $1.2868 Dollar/yen: UP at 106.07 yen from 105.60 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 91.01 pence from 91.14 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7 percent at $39.59 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.3 percent at $41.69 per barrel dan-bcp/rfj/rl
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