That US coronavirus relief deadline proposed by House Speaker is coming up today, in the end of the day, keeping the overall market mood cautious.
Republican lawmakers are doubtful she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will come up with something everyone will agree to.
Pelosi and Mnuchin have been negotiating intermittently since August on a fresh coronavirus aid plan. They plan to speak again on Tuesday after they “continued to narrow their differences” in a nearly hour-long call.
Pelosi said on Sunday she was optimistic a deal could be reached on a fresh package.
Investors are hopeful of more stimulus from Washington. Senate Republicans are getting prepared to vote on a bill to help small businesses hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further, investors are broadly in consolidation mode before Nov. 3. U.S. presidential election.
Uncertainty over the fiscal stimulus weighed on Wall Street’s main indexes on Monday. Analysts expect market turbulence to increase with only two weeks left until Election Day.
There have now been more than 40 million cases of coronavirus recorded worldwide. As the numbers tick up, vaccine trials are evolving.
On the Brexit front, Britain’s chief Brexit negotiator said there was no basis to resume trade talks with the EU unless there was a fundamental change in Brussels’ approach.
Price actions suggest investors lean towards a scenario where both parties eventually will agree on some sort of a deal.
START TRADINGForex – US coronavirus relief deadline lapses today
Markets stayed within well-worn recent ranges as fading hopes for a U.S. coronavirus aid package kept markets in wait-and-watch mode.
The dollar index dipped 0.2% to 93.227, on track for a second consecutive day of falls.
Markets are confident a win by Democrat Joe Biden would lead to more fiscal stimulus, potentially weakening the dollar. But investors are also wary of a contested election result that might boost the safe-haven appeal of the greenback.
The Australian dollar dropped 0.4% to $0.7045, hitting a three-week low of $0.7032 on increasing expectations of monetary easing next month by the central bank. Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) last policy meeting confirmed the Board had discussed cutting rates.
The euro rebounded 0.3% to a one-week high at $1.18065 after weakening 0.1% to $1.17600 in early London trading.
Elsewhere, Sterling held on to small gains made the previous day at $1.2941. Sterling traders kept the currency afloat on Tuesday. They search for clues on how likely it was that Britain would reach a trade deal with the European Union by the end of the year.
The pound remained steady against the U.S. dollar, but fell slightly against the broadly rising euro.
The British currency was last trading flat at $1.2950 and against the euro down 0.3% at 91.22 pence.
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.
Sources: Reuters, Investing, CNN money