Shares started the week out on a sour note in Asia as worsening coronavirus outbreaks overshadowed news that U.S. lawmakers finally have a deal on more support for American families and businesses.
Markets fell in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea on Monday but rose in Shanghai.
Passage of the nearly $1 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package was expected later Monday. However, a resurgence of virus outbreaks around the globe has dented optimism that vaccines can bring a swift end to the pandemic.
Most investors had already factored in expectations for the fresh stimulus, Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.
'The tentative accord on the approximate $900 billion coronavirus stimulus deal, having been the talk of the town for weeks, brought forth little fresh enthusiasm for markets,' Pan said.
People wearing face masks walk past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong on Monday. Shares have started the week out on a sour note in Asia as worsening coronavirus outbreaks overshadow news that U.S. lawmakers finally have a deal on more support for American families and businesses
A man wearing a face mask walks past a bank's electronic board showing the Hong Kong share index in Hong Kong, Monday. Markets fell in Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea on Monday but rose in Shanghai
A shopper washes her hands using a mobile machine installed to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Tokyo on Saturday, two days before Asian markets opened down due to COVID outbreak fears
People undergo coronavirus tests in front of a railway station in Seoul, South Korea on Monday
In Asia, new COVID-19 outbreaks have led authorities to impose lockdowns or other restrictions in Australia and Thailand. In Japan, the government has suspended a travel promotion program and advised restaurants and bars to close early.
Meanwhile, in Britain the spread of an especially contagious form of the coronavirus has brought fresh limits on business and other activity. Other European governments are likewise stepping up measures to contain a resurgence of the pandemic.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.6% to 26,613.05 while in Hong Kong the Hang Seng declined 0.5% to 26,368.23. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.6% to 2,755.37 and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 6,643.60.
The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.3% to 3,406.04. Shares rose in Taiwan but fell in Singapore.
The U.S. stimulus agreement is to establish temporary $300 per week supplemental jobless benefits and $600 direct stimulus payments to most Americans, along with a fresh round of subsidies for hard-hit businesses and funding for schools, health care providers, and renters facing eviction.
Medical assistant Vangie Yazzie, left, administers the Pfizer vaccine to Monica Jones in Arizona on Friday
Boxes containing the Moderna COVID vaccine are prepared to be shipped at the McKesson distribution center in Olive Branch, Mississippi on Sunday
The final agreement was reached after a breakthrough over Federal Reserve emergency powers was resolved by the Senate´s top Democrat and a senior conservative Republican.
Wall Street retreated on Friday as investors waited to see if Congress would deliver on its promises of more cash for struggling workers and businesses.
The S&P 500 fell 0.4%, a day after it and other major indexes returned to record heights. The decline snapped a three-day winning streak for the benchmark index, but it still notched a 1.3% weekly gain that more than made up its prior week´s loss.
Friday was a quadruple 'witching day,' Wall Street-speak for the quarterly expiration of stock options and futures contracts, which forces traders to tie up loose ends in contracts they hold, leading to particularly heavy trading volume.
The S&P 500 index fell 13.07 points to 3,709.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.4% to 30,179.05. The Nasdaq composite gave up 0.1% to 12,755.64. The Russell 2000 dropped 0.4% to 1,969.99.
The worsening pandemic has been tightening its chokehold on the economy Reports last week showed more workers are applying for jobless benefits and sales for retailers slumped by more last month than economists expected.
Even the news of a coronavirus relief package in the US wasn't enough to excite investors, who had already factored in their expectations of a deal.
Investors' worries about increasing coronavirus outbreaks around the globe contributed to the market skid in Hong Kong on Monday
Wall Street´s hope is that big stimulus for the economy might help carry it through a tough winter, until the widespread rollout of COVID-19 vaccines might bring relief.
But it will be months before most people can get the shots, and the pandemic is likely to do even more damage in the interim.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 0.93%, down slightly from 0.94% late Friday.
U.S. benchmark crude oil lost $1.46 to $47.78 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 70 cents to $49.24 per barrel on Friday.
Brent crude, the international standard, declined $1.63 to $50.63 per barrel.
The dollar slipped to 103.29 Japanese yen from 103.32 yen on Friday. The dollar's prolonged weakness against the yen prompted Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to warn that the government did not want to see the dollar-yen rate fall below 100 yen.
The euro slipped to $1.2212 from $1.2262.
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