This Monday is a busy day for the global economy. In the U.S., the government shutdown is entering its third day. Stocks are unfazed by the shutdown, but the Dollar is still stuck at multi year lows. The Euro is getting stronger as German politicians are close to reach an agreement. Here are the top things to know for today.
1. U.S. Government Shutdown continues
The U.S. government shutdown entered a third day after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a deal Sunday night to fund government operations amid a bitter dispute over immigration and border security.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that an overnight vote on a measure to fund government operations through Feb. 8 was canceled and would instead be held at 17:00 GMT on Monday, but uncertainty remained over whether it had enough votes to pass.
Funding for federal agencies officially ran out at midnight on Friday. This is the first U.S. government shutdown since 2013. That year, the government was shut down for 16 days.
The shutdown could sideline significant numbers of federal employees and government contractors and potentially dampen quarterly growth figures.
2. Global stocks remain calm
Global stock markets were muted, as investors took a relatively calm view of the partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government.
Most major indexes in Asia closed mixed, as equities in South Korea and Australia retreated, but other major bourses in the region edged higher.
In Europe, the majority of the continent's bourses traded with little clear direction, as markets focused on a flurry of M&A and the release of fresh corporate earnings.
On Wall Street, U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open, as investors kept an eye on political developments in the U.S. regarding the government shutdown.
On the earnings front, Monday sees results from Halliburton and Wynn Resorts ahead of the opening bell, with tech giant Netflix reporting after the close.
3. The USD remains lower
The dollar was pinned near a three-year low as a U.S. government shutdown encouraged investors to add to bearish bets against the greenback.
The dollar index, which gauges the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was down around 0.3% at 90.24, not far from the three-year trough of 89.96 set last Thursday.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasuries price fell, pushing up the benchmark 10-year yield to as high as 2.672%, its highest level in 3-1/2 years.
4. Euro keeps good momentum
The euro enjoyed a strong start to the week, boosted by political developments in Germany, where progress has been made toward forming the next coalition government.
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday welcomed news that the opposing Social Democratic Party voted to begin formal coalition talks with her Christian Democrats after months of stalemate, easing a political deadlock in the euro area’s largest economy.
Merkel, SPD leader Martin Schulz and the leader of Merkel's CSU Bavarian allies, Horst Seehofer, will meet on Monday and the full talks may start as early as Tuesday.
The euro edged up around 0.3% against the dollar to 1.2253, within sight of a three-year peak of 1.2323 that it scaled last Wednesday.
