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By Caitlin Ostroff and Paul Vigna U.S. stocks were little changed Thursday in light holiday trading as investors tracked the latest developments on a new coronavirus aid package and the historic trade deal reached between the U.K. and European Union. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.2%. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%. The stock market closed at 1 p.m. ET on Christmas Eve, and U.S. and European markets will be closed Friday. Congressional Republicans on Friday blocked an effort by Democrats to increase the stimulus checks in the coronavirus aid package to $2,000, a demand made by President Trump earlier this week. Along with Mr. Trump s veto of a spending bill, the moves threw Washington into chaos and raised the possibility of a government shutdown next week.
The U.S. House of Representatives blocked President Donald Trump’s bid to change the terms of the coronavirus relief package and government spending package after he insisted on a $2,000 direct payments to Americans, compared to the current $600, Reuters reports. The spending bill will make another round through Congress for a majority vote to override the President’s veto on Monday.
“If (stimulus) doesn’t get passed in some form or another it could mean severe consequences for the unemployed,” Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities, told Reuters.
Garrett Melson, a strategist at Natixis Investment Managers, argued that the market’s reaction to the latest political strife is only short-term noise and investors are looking at the long-term picture.
GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks shrug off Trump s stimulus threat; pound jumps on Brexit trade deal hopes reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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NEW YORK Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors waved away a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump not to sign a pandemic relief bill, while the British pound soared on rising expectations of a Brexit trade deal.
In a video posted on Twitter, Trump said the stimulus bill, agreed upon after months of wrangling in Congress, was “a disgrace” and that he wanted to increase “ridiculously low” $600 payments for individuals to $2,000.
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Stocks shrug off Trump s stimulus threat; Brexit trade deal hopes boost pound reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.