FEDERAL RESERVE

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell used his first four years as the world's top central banker to reshape U.S.

Wall Street's three major indexes closed lower on Wednesday as investors bet that the latest economic data would do nothing to push the Federal Reserve off track from its aggressive interest rate hiking cycle aimed at taming run-away inflation.

The euro gave back some of its recent gains on Tuesday, but was still set for its best month in a year as markets reposition in anticipation of interest rate increases in Europe and the possibility of a slower pace of U.S.

Analysts said Tuesday's election was good for equities as the expected Democratic sweep of Congress failed to materialise.

The US is in dire need of a fresh rescue package as the disease flares up again, threatening an already stuttering recovery in the world's top economy.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits remain higher than the worst of the 2008-2010 global financial crisis.

Traders have also given up almost any hope for a new US stimulus package being passed before next Tuesday's election.

A key worry is a spike in new virus cases in key economies that have led to containment measures being reimposed.

The two-day event concludes amid a renewed push by a top lawmaker in Washington to agree on an additional spending bill to prop up the economy.

Brexit tensions and uncertainty over the US presidential election are keeping gains in check.

China-US tensions and a lack of progress in Washington stimulus talks -- all against the backdrop of the coronavirus -- were keeping markets from surging.

Buying was also boosted by news that Trump had expanded the use of a coronavirus treatment using plasma from people who had recovered from the disease.

The decision is the first such move since the global financial crisis 12 years ago, and limits how banks can spend their capital.

The British central bank has been at the forefront of economic fire-fighting over this year's deadly COVID-19 emergency.

The lingering optimism provided support to higher-yielding, riskier currencies.

The gains come despite a flurry of downbeat economic data, including Monday's news that Japan had fallen into its first recession since 2015.

Equities were broadly lower Tuesday, though they were fluctuating throughout early business.

After downplaying the severity of the outbreak for weeks, Trump on Tuesday called for bipartisan support for immediate cash payments to American families.

The surprise cut came as central banks around the world pledge to do what they can to mitigate the fallout from coronavirus.

With cases being reported in new countries, traders are growing increasingly fearful about the impact on the global economy.

Slower U.S. growth expectations and the Federal Reserve's more gradual approach towards interest rate hikes will weigh on the U.S. dollar in the second half of the year, analysts said in a poll conducted by International Business Times.