Dow Up Nearly 500 Points as US Senate Inches Toward Possible Vote on COVID-19 Relief Bill

After experiencing a 1,000-plus point jump earlier in the day, US stocks quickly lost their momentum on Wednesday after a handful of US senators voiced their objections to provisions included in the Senate’s fiscal stimulus package.

Those lawmakers include five senators: Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

All four Republicans have threatened to vote down the stimulus bill over the provision that adds $600 per week to unemployment insurance. Sanders has indicated that should the specified measure be removed from the Senate plan, he would not support the package.

European and Asian markets also saw stocks soar throughout the day as US lawmakers announced hours before trading closed that negotiations regarding a multitrillion-dollar relief bill had concluded, and that all involved government officials were in agreement on the terms.

“This is definitely a step in the right direction,” Paul Sandhu, head of multi-assets quant solutions for the Asia-Pacific region at BNP Paribas Asset Management, told the Wall Street Journal. “What we needed right away was an economic buffer essentially stabilizing the downside risk for the next three or four months while the virus hopefully starts to dissipate.”

US Senate Reaches Deal

Although specific details of the $2 trillion stimulus bill have not yet been made public, key provisions made known include: $250 billion for direct payments to Americans, $250 billion to bolster unemployment benefits for Americans, $130 billion to struggling hospitals, over $800 billion in loans to both small and large businesses, and $150 billion for cash-strapped state and local governments.

Under the direct payments to Americans stipulation, the legislation is expected to provide one-time checks of some $1,200 to individuals who make $75,000 or less in adjusted gross income.

During a Tuesday White House briefing, Larry Kudlow, economic adviser to US President Donald Trump, stated that aid would total roughly $6 trillion, noting that aside from the $2 trillion for Americans, there would also be $4 trillion in Federal Reserve lending powers to ease the strain on the US financial system.

A vote on the measure is scheduled to take place later Wednesday before the bill is passed onto fellow lawmakers in the US House of Representatives. Although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters Wednesday that she does feel “optimistic” about the bill, she did not indicate when the House would take up the measure for a vote.

Trump has indicated that he will sign the bill once it has cleared both congressional chambers.

Sourse: sputniknews.com