“Markets hate uncertainty, and Trump’s second tenure in the White House has served to provide huge instability over expectations for trade, jobs, inflation, and government spending,” said Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets.
However, Asian equities managed to end the week on a positive note while European markets were also up in midday deals.
Stocks gained support from “hopes that the US government would avoid a shutdown of non-essential services,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown.
With just hours until a deadline to push a Republican spending bill through, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block it.
The package would keep the lights on through September, but Democrats have come under pressure from their grassroots to defy the plan, which they say is full of harmful spending cuts. (AFP)
