With the clock ticking to renew pandemic aid, leaders in Washington are under pressure to resolve their differences after months of deadlock amid signs of a faltering economic recovery. Their peers in Europe cleared the bloc’s €1.8 trillion ($2.9 trillion) stimulus package on Wednesday.
“Investors know that the environment for businesses and for earnings is going to be good in the medium and long-term,” said Chris Gaffney, president of world markets at TIAA Bank. “The global economy and the US in particular is going to go through a tough patch here in the next few months. However, the central banks and the future looks good.”
Emmanuel Macron’s office said he’d tested positive for the coronavirus. The French president, 42, will self-isolate during seven days, while continuing to work, his office said. The number of virus deaths reached another daily record in the US, while the first known allergic reaction to the Pfizer vaccine was reported in Alaska as some snarls began to emerge in the effort to send the shots across the country.
Elsewhere, oil held gains in the wake of a surprise decline in US crude inventories. Stocks across Asia saw modest advances.
