U S Congress seeks stopgap funding bill to avoid government shutdown amid coronavirus talks reuters.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from reuters.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Congress passed the two-day stopgap spending bill Friday night
Trump must sign it by midnight to avert a partial government shutdown
Lawmakers are at an impasse over key provisions of COVID relief bill
Republican proposal would limit the Federal Reserve s emergency lending
Debates over the amount of direct relief payments have also blocked progress
Frustrated lawmakers now must hammer out final bill during weekend session
Rand retreats after scaling new 10-month high
In early trade the rand was at R14.71 against the US dollar, 0.48% weaker than its previous close.
By Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Reuters
18 Dec 2020 09:23
Image: Reuters
The rand retreated early on Friday after scaling to a 10-month high in the last session, but the currency was on track to post weekly gains of more than 2%.
At 08:05, the rand traded at R14.71 against the US dollar, 0.48% weaker than its previous close.
In the absence of domestic market-moving news, the rand was expected to continue taking direction from global events that sway appetite for risk.
Markets this week has been occupied by stimulus talks in the United States as well as Brexit negotiations in Europe.
Asian markets slip as dealers track stimulus progress asiabulletin.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from asiabulletin.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Asia shares retreat from record, but US stimulus hopes buoy market mood
Asia shares retreat from record, but US stimulus hopes buoy market mood
MSCI s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.3% from Thursday s record. Still, it s on track for a seventh consecutive week of gains - the longest such streak in about a year. Updated: December 18, 2020 10:55:52 am
People look at an electronic stock board showing reopened Japan s Nikkei 225 index at Tokyo Stock Exchange in Tokyo Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Asian shares on Friday slipped from the record they hit a day earlier, but the prospect of a major US coronavirus relief package left some investors still in the mood to pick up stocks and other risk-exposed assets.