Monday 21 December 2020

COVID-19: US reaches relief deal, UK tightens restrictions

The S&P 500 rose 1.3 percent last week, its fourth weekly gain in five weeks.

Stocks could start the week on a positive note.

On Sunday, the US Congress reached a deal on a US$900 billion COVID-19 relief package.

On the COVId-19 pandemic itself, however, there was less positive news.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday that London and other areas in southern England currently under Tier 3 restrictions will move to an even stricter new Tier 4 that requires non-essential shops, hairdressers and indoor leisure venues to close. A planned five-day easing of socialising rules that would allow up to three households to meet in “Christmas bubbles” will be cancelled for Tier 4 areas.

The move comes as the country's top medical officer announced that the UK has identified a new variant of the coronavirus that “can spread more quickly” than prior strains of the virus. New COVID-19 cases in the UK rose more than 40 percent last week compared to the prior week.

Globally, COVID-19 infections passed 75 million on Saturday.

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