Markets & Finance News

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority sold HK$3.1 billion ($400 million) into the market in New York trading hours after the local currency hit the strong end of its trading band, according to data released by the HKMA.

International stocks rose on Friday, with all three major Wall Street indexes posting weekly gains as investors grew more hopeful the U.S. government would provide additional economic stimulus.

U.S. stocks joined their global counterparts in the black, and were on track for weekly gains on Friday as ongoing fiscal aid talks and growing expectations for Democratic election victories revived hopes over economic stimulus.

The dollar fell to three-week lows on Friday on optimism that a deal for new U.S. stimulus would be reached, and as investors bet that Democrat Joe Biden is more likely to win the U.S. presidency and offer a larger economic package. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would resume talks on a possible COVID-19 stimulus package with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday, while Senate Republicans voiced doubts that a deal can be reached before the Nov. 3 election. Republican President Donald Trump, who initially withdrew from the negotiations this week only to regain interest in forging a bipartisan accord, said he was open to a larger deal. “It seems like, at least in the White House, there is more of a sense of urgency that it needs to be done,” said Bipan Rai, North American head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto. However, “the key question for us is whether or not the Senate Republicans are going to go with it … they don’t seem to be united.” “I think we’re more or less in a standstill until we get some more clarity on whether or not this stimulus package is going to go through,” Rai said. The dollar index against a basket of major currencies fell 0.54% to 93.05, the lowest since September 21, and fell below its 50-day moving average for the first time since then. It has held within a range from 91.74 to 94.75 since late July. The euro rose 0.57% to $1.1825. The greenback weakened 0.39% against the Japanese yen to 105.60 yen. The U.S. currency also fell on rising expectations that Biden will win the Nov. 3 election, and that Democrats could win the Senate. A Democratic victory would likely result in larger stimulus, which would be negative for the dollar. Rising expectations of a Biden victory has also boosted appetite for currencies that have been hurt by the trade war between Washington and Beijing, with the Chinese currency the biggest beneficiary. The offshore yuan strengthened to 6.6778, the strongest since April 2019. The British pound rose, brushing off worse than expected UK growth data as investors became more optimistic about a Brexit deal being reached ahead of a key European Council summit next week. Sterling gained 0.79% to $1.3035. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 2:58PM (1858 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1825 $1.1758 +0.57% +5.49% +1.1828 +1.1754 Dollar/Yen JPY= 105.6000 106.0100 -0.39% -2.99% +106.0400 +105.6200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 124.87 124.69 +0.14% +2.41% +125.0900 +124.5300 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9098 0.9167 -0.75% -5.99% +0.9177 +0.9098 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.3035 1.2933 +0.79% -1.69% +1.3040 +1.2922 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3130 1.3194 -0.49% +1.11% +1.3202 +1.3115 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7233 0.7166 +0.93% +3.02% +0.7239 +0.7161 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0759 1.0780 -0.19% -0.86% +1.0789 +1.0755 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9068 0.9087 -0.21% +7.26% +0.9131 +0.9069 NZ NZD= 0.6661 0.6572 +1.35% -1.11% +0.6670 +0.6576 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.1453 9.2623 -1.26% +4.18% +9.2751 +9.1442 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.8151 10.8940 -0.72% +9.93% +10.9109 +10.8115 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.7899 8.8565 -0.25% -5.96% +8.8736 +8.7860 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.3940 10.4202 -0.25% -0.72% +10.4510 +10.3836 (Additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in London Editing by Nick Zieminski and Marguerita Choy)

U.S. stocks joined their global counterparts in the black on Friday as ongoing fiscal aid talks and growing expectations for Democratic election victories boosted optimism over economic stimulus.

Sri Lankan shares rose for a third straight session on Friday on the back of gains in financial and industrial stocks, although the index booked its biggest weekly decline in over six months.

Sri Lankan shares rose for a third straight session on Friday on the back of gains in financial and industrial stocks, although the index booked its biggest weekly decline in over six months.

The dollar fell to three-week lows on Friday as optimism that a deal for new U.S. stimulus would be reached, and as investors bet that Democrat Joe Biden is more likely to win the U.S. presidency and offer a larger economic package. After stalling talks with Democrats on a comprehensive aid package earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday called for a "skinny" relief bill that would include elements such as direct payments and a bailout of the struggling airline sector. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said another rescue package was needed but noted "vast differences" over costs. U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said legislation to help airline companies could only move through Congress with guarantees that a comprehensive aid bill would be developed too. “It seems like, at least in the White House, there is more of a sense of urgency that it needs to be done,” said Bipan Rai, North American head of FX strategy at CIBC Capital Markets in Toronto. However, “the key question for us is whether or not the Senate Republicans are going to go with it … they don’t seem to be united.” “I think we’re more or less in a standstill until we get some more clarity on whether or not this stimulus package is going to go through,” Rai said. The dollar index against a basket of major currencies fell 0.34% to 93.23, the lowest since September 21. It has held within a range from 91.74 to 94.75 since late July. The euro rose 0.45% to $1.1811. The greenback weakened 0.16% against the Japanese yen to 105.84 yen. The U.S. currency also fell on rising expectations that Biden will win the Nov. 3 election, and that Democrats could win the Senate. A Democratic victory would likely result in larger stimulus, which would be negative for the dollar. Rising expectations of a Biden victory has also boosted appetite for currencies that have been hurt by the trade war between Washington and Beijing, with the Chinese currency the biggest beneficiary. The offshore yuan strengthened to 6.6801, the strongest since April 2019. The pound was steady, brushing off worse than expected UK growth data as investors became more optimistic about a Brexit deal being reached ahead of a key European Council summit next week. Sterling was last up 0.29% at $1.2970. ======================================================== Currency bid prices at 9:24AM (1324 GMT) Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Euro/Dollar EUR= $1.1811 $1.1758 +0.45% +5.36% +1.1817 +1.1754 Dollar/Yen JPY= 105.8400 106.0100 -0.16% -2.77% +106.0400 +105.8200 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 125.00 124.69 +0.25% +2.50% +125.0900 +124.5300 Dollar/Swiss CHF= 0.9116 0.9167 -0.56% -5.81% +0.9177 +0.9116 Sterling/Dollar GBP= 1.2970 1.2933 +0.29% -2.18% +1.2976 +1.2922 Dollar/Canadian CAD= 1.3141 1.3194 -0.40% +1.19% +1.3202 +1.3132 Australian/Doll AUD= 0.7213 0.7166 +0.66% +2.73% +0.7218 +0.7161 ar Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0770 1.0780 -0.09% -0.76% +1.0789 +1.0769 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.9107 0.9087 +0.22% +7.72% +0.9131 +0.9077 NZ NZD= 0.6638 0.6572 +1.00% -1.45% +0.6642 +0.6576 Dollar/Dollar Dollar/Norway NOK= 9.1798 9.2623 -0.89% +4.57% +9.2751 +9.1786 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 10.8450 10.8940 -0.45% +10.24% +10.9109 +10.8413 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 8.8142 8.8565 -0.11% -5.70% +8.8736 +8.8136 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.4087 10.4202 -0.11% -0.58% +10.4510 +10.4110 (Additional reporting by Saikat Chatterjee in London Editing by Nick Zieminski)

China's central bank is issuing 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) worth of digital currency to 50,000 randomly selected consumers in what some see as the country's first public test of the digital yuan payment system.

* Euro zone periphery govt bond yields: http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr