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GLOBAL MARKETS-Investors left hanging as stimulus talks drag on

Published 23/10/2020, 20:11
Updated 23/10/2020, 20:12
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

* Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.5%; S&P 500 down 0.2%
* Stimulus talks continue with no resolution
* Dollar down 1% on the week
* European stocks boosted by strong Q3 earnings
* Oil prices fall on demand concerns
* Graphic: 2020 asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates in 2020 http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh

By Matt Scuffham
NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Global stocks treaded water and
the dollar fell on Friday as investors were left hanging,
waiting to see if a long-awaited agreement on a fresh U.S.
coronavirus relief package will finally be agreed.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it still was possible
to get another round of COVID-19 aid before the election, but
that it was up to President Donald Trump to act, including
talking to reluctant Senate Republicans, if he wants it.
But Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned a deal would
only be possible if Pelosi was willing to compromise.
"There's been a waiting game for a stimulus package," said
Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel
in New York. "We keep getting teased by reports of supposed
progress and then those hopes get dashed."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was down 148.98
points, or 0.53%, at 28,214.68, the S&P 500 .SPX was down 6.23
points, or 0.18%, at 3,447.26. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC was
down 34.27 points, or 0.30%, at 11,471.74. The biggest weight on the three indexes was a 10.5% slump in
chipmaker Intel Corp INTC.O after it reported a drop in
margins as consumers bought cheaper laptops and
pandemic-stricken businesses. The dollar was 0.2% lower against a basket of currencies
DXY , leaving it just shy of a seven-week low and set to
decline about 1% on the week, with uncertainty ahead of the
election weighing on the greenback.
U.S. President Donald Trump trails former vice president Joe
Biden in national polls, but the contest is much tighter in some
battleground states where the election will likely be decided.
The final debate between Trump and Biden on Thursday offered
few surprises and little new direction. European stocks fared better, boosted by positive earnings
updates from Barclays and a surge in Airbus, but nagging worries
about the economic impact of surging COVID-19 cases saw markets
post their biggest weekly decline in a month. Breaking a four-day losing streak, the pan-European STOXX
600 index .STOXX advanced 0.6%, with London's FTSE 100 .FTSE
outperforming its European peers after Barclays BARC.L jumped
7% on strong results. In Asia-Pacific, MSCI's broadest index of the region's
shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was flat, while Japan's
Nikkei .N225 ticked up 0.2% and the CSI300 index of mainland
China .CSI300 shed 1.3%.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which follows
shares in nearly 50 countries, was up 0.3%, but set for its
biggest weekly fall in a month.
The pound fell against the dollar and euro on Friday after
the UK Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a four-month
low, but was still set to end the week up, after a new phase of
intense Brexit talks restarted.
The chief negotiators for Britain and the European Union met
on Friday for talks on a last-gasp trade deal to avert a
tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis. The pound was down 0.4% at $1.3031 on the day but up 0.9% on
a weekly basis.
The euro EUR= ticked up 0.3% against the dollar, as was
sterling at $1.3084. The Chinese yuan CNY= also held its ground against the
dollar after an official at China's foreign exchange regulator
said it has been more stable than expected, suggesting
authorities are not too worried about its recent rise.
Oil prices fell on concerns about rising Libyan crude supply
and demand concerns caused by surging coronavirus cases in the
United States and Europe. Brent futures LCOc1 settled at
$41.77 per barrel, down 69 cents or 1.63%. U.S. crude futures
CLc1 settled at $39.85 per barrel, down 79 cents.
Gold eased as the dollar recouped some losses, but
uncertainty going into the Nov. 3 U.S. elections limited
bullion's losses.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.1% to $1,903.07 per ounce by 2:06 p.m.
EDT (1806 GMT). U.S. gold futures GCcv1 settled unchanged at
$1,905.20.


<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country Wolrd Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Nick Zieminski)

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