US Stock Markets Edge Lower On Package Jitters

The US Senate, facing a midnight deadline on Friday, unanimously approved a one-week extension of federal funding to avoid a government shutdown and to provide more time for separate negotiations on Covid-19 relief and an overarching spending bill.

Lawmakers have wrangled for months over a fresh fiscal stimulus package to support an economy battered by coronavirus lockdowns. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday suspended indoor dining in New York City, effective Monday.

"It’s like holiday shopping, you think you’ve got time and the next thing you know it’s the day before the holiday and you’ve got to hammer it out and get it done," said Tom Hainlin, global investment strategist at US Bank Wealth Management's Ascent Private Wealth Group in Minneapolis.

"The base case is that they are going to get it done, the base case is we are going to get some stimulus package put through and because we have some of the forbearance things falling off at the end of the year, there is a shot clock on these."

While recent data has showed a faltering recovery in the labor market, a survey from the University of Michigan on Friday showed consumer sentiment improved more than expected in November, while a gauge of inflation rose moderately.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 percent to 30,046, the S&P 500 lost 0.1 percent to 3,663 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped or 0.2 percent to 12,377.

With daily coronavirus death tolls at alarming levels, fresh business restrictions in many US states and increasing layoffs, investors are counting on more fiscal relief to sustain a nascent economic recovery as most government aid has dried up.

Another 2,902 US deaths were reported on Thursday, a day after a record 3,253 people died, a pace projected to continue for the next two to three months even with a rapid rollout of inoculations.

However, conflicting headlines on progress toward a stimulus deal have kept investors cautious, even as optimism over a working vaccine pushed Wall Street's main indexes to record highs this week. The Dow and S&P each snapped two-week winning streaks while the Nasdaq broke a three-week streak of gains.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday raised the possibility of stimulus negotiations dragging on through Christmas. (Reuters)