White House Considers Postponing Tariffs to Help Businesses: Live Updates

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was down 3.8 percent midday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.4 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.8 percent after the country’s central bank announced further action to keep its economy supplied with money.

Australia was the Asia-Pacific region’s big gainer, with the SP/ASX 200 index rising 2.6 percent.

Stocks rose Wednesday as Congress moved toward passing the aid package.

Stocks on Wall Street rose on Wednesday as investors sized up a $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package intended to shore up the American economy, but the gains faded late in the day as debate over the bill continued without a vote in the Senate.

The legislation would be the biggest fiscal stimulus package in modern American history, and more than double the size of the roughly $800 billion stimulus package that Congress passed in 2009, during the last recession.

The SP 500 climbed more than 1 percent, adding to a 9.4 percent gain on Tuesday that had come as investors anticipated that Democrats and Republicans would reach a deal over the plans.

Investors have welcomed the plans, but few are willing to conclusively say that the worst of the market sell-off is over.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/business/stock-market-today-coronavirus.html