Nervous about Wednesday’s inauguration, and still doubtful on the Democrats’ ability to force through their stimulus plan, the markets lost their early sheen this Tuesday.
Returning from its Martin Luther King Day break, the Dow Jones failed to breach 31,000, instead settling for a 30,940-tickling 100 point increase.
The backdrop to the session’s trading was Janet Yellen’s confirmation hearing in front of the Senate Finance Committee, an appearance that is the initial litmus test for the Biden administration’s stimulus package – a package that has so far failed to set the markets on fire.
Cautious after being burned by past experiences, investors appear to be in wait and see mode over the likelihood of the $1.9 trillion deal escaping the Senate intact.
The relatively disappointing US open left the European indices in the same listless mood as they were during Monday’s States-free trading. The FTSE at best rose 10 or so points, as did the DAX, but with the CAC drifting a handful of points lower.
But don’t write the week off just yet. It is back-loaded, with the inauguration, the first ECB meeting of 2021, and January’s flash PMIs all still to come.
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