Markets rise, Brexit talks in “final stages”

Markets were mostly higher on Wednesday.

The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent, the STOXX Europe 600 rose 1.1 percent and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.8 percent.

European markets were buoyed by a report that talks between the European Union and the UK on a Brexit trade deal are in their “final stages”.

“The fact that they are still talking has given another reason to buy into the market,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

However, US stocks were weighed down by renewed political uncertainty after President Donald Trump called the new US$900 billion COVID-19 relief package an unsuitable “disgrace” and told lawmakers to alter the bill’s content.

Ed Mills of Raymond James said that “our base case remains that the bill passed by Congress will become law”.