Stocks Rally Stalls As Investors Await US Stimulus

Stock markets in Europe and the US fell on Tuesday, retreating after strong gains as investors nervously awaited news on a fresh stimulus package from Washington

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Aug, 2020 ) :Stock markets in Europe and the US fell on Tuesday, retreating after strong gains as investors nervously awaited news on a fresh stimulus package from Washington.

Democrats and Republicans are battling to hammer out a new package to help the US economy recover from the ravages of the pandemic.

"There's a big desire from both parties to get some kind of stimulus passed. I think the market is expecting that," said Bob Phillips, at Spectrum Management Group.

With extra unemployment benefits now dried up and a moratorium on evictions expired, fears are the economy will be battered again if no deal is passed soon.

"A strong performance on Monday is not being replicated in early trade so far today," said Craig Erlam at OANDA.

"Of course, we in Europe don't have the might of the US tech stocks on our side," he said, pointing to a strong performance of the technology sector which took the Nasdaq to a record high on Monday.

Asian stocks rallied earlier on the back of Wall Street's overnight performance.

On Tuesday, the Dow was only a touch weaker at the opening bell, while European stocks retreated by up to nearly a percent.

Investors welcomed recent data pointing to a rebound in some economies, but analysts were circumspect about the shape of the recovery.

"The composition of China's economic recovery offers a roadmap to the rest of the world that is not especially bullish for a consumer-driven rebound," said AxiCorp's Stephen Innes.

"It's easier to normalise the supply-side of the economy than the demand side in a post-pandemic-shock environment." - Key figures around 1330 GMT - London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,018.91 points Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.7 percent at 12,563.09 Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 4,869.37 EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.3 percent at 3,239.10 New York - Dow: DOWN 0.1 percent at 26,651.11 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 22,573.66 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 2.0 percent at 24,946.63 (close) Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,371.69 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1728 from $1.1764 at 2100 GMT Dollar/yen: UP at 106.13 Yen from 105.95 yen Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2991 from $1.3076 Euro/pound: UP at 90.28 pence from 89.97West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.6 percent at $40.37 per barrelBrent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.6 percent at $43.43