No stimulus cheer as new COVID strain intensifies selloff

 

• Lawmakers from both parties announced Sunday night that they finally reached an agreement on a $900B coronavirus spending package to bolster the U.S. economy.
• It would be one of the largest economic relief bills in the nation's history, second only to the $2.2T CARES Act passed back in March.
• The legislation includes $600 in direct payments to individuals and $300 per week of enhanced unemployment benefits, as well as funding for small business, vaccine distribution, food assistance, education and child care. It also covers rental relief and extends the nationwide eviction moratorium through January 31, 2021.
• The House it expected to vote on the bill today, followed by the Senate, and while that was supposed to be a catalyst for the market's next move higher, U.S. stock futures are going in the other direction. Dow -2%; S&P 500 -2.2%; Nasdaq -1.5%.
• What happened? Traders are nervously watching a new COVID-19 mutation in the U.K., which has resulted in a tough lockdown in London and southeast England, and led a number of countries to block travel from Britain.
• The variant is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of the disease and it has so far been identified in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia.
• The Euro Stoxx 50 is off 3.6% on the news, with shares of travel and leisure stocks leading losses. Oil also went into reverse on demand worries, tumbling 5.8% to $46/bbl.
• https://seekingalpha.com/news/3646065-no-stimulus-cheer-new-covid-strain-intensifies-selloff