Macro Roundup (Dec 21)

SHANGHAI, Dec 21 (SMM) — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

Congress has agreed to a $900 billion stimulus deal after months of failed negotiations, which will provide much needed financial lifelines to Americans struggling with the economic fallout from the Covid pandemic.

The House and the Senate still have to pass the deal, which is tied to broader government funding legislation. They face a deadline of 12:01 a.m. ET to pass funding or the government will shut down.

The dollar rose on Friday from two-and-a-half-year lows as some investors squared positions heading into year-end.

On Wall Street, stock futures held steady in overnight trading on Sunday as Congress managed to seal a coronavirus stimulus deal hours before a shutdown deadline.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat. S&P 500 futures were also little changed and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.2%. At Monday’s open, Tesla will enter the S&P 500 with a 1.69% weighting in the index, the fifth largest. 

Oil hit a nine-month high on Friday and was headed for a seventh straight weekly gain as investors focused on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and looked past rising coronavirus cases across the world.

Gold prices slipped on Friday after three days of gains as the dollar’s rebound offset support from hopes of a U.S. fiscal stimulus package.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,883.39 per ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,889.30 per ounce.

On the coronavirus front, Moderna’s vaccine also started shipping today to sites across the nation, with 5.9 million doses scheduled for delivery this week. The first shots with Moderna’s vaccine will begin Monday.

As the federal government struggles to keep up with the current crisis, there is growing concern that a new threat is on the horizon. The United Kingdom has identified a new, more infectious strain of the virus, leading to lockdowns in London and causing E.U. nations to ban flights with Britain.

More than 2,500 deaths attributed to the virus were recorded in the U.S. on Saturday, and more than 196,000 new cases were reported, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

U.K. consumer confidence made its sharpest climb in eight years in December, with a survey released Friday from market research firm GfK jumping to -26 from -33 in November, as the rollout of the first Covid-19 vaccine program in the country lifted sentiment.

Germany’s closely watched Ifo business climate survey rose in December, with Friday’s reading coming in at 92.1 to surpass expectations of 90.0 from economists.

China is set to announce its latest loan prime rates (LPR) at around 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN.