* Trump calls the long-awaited stimulus bill “a shame”
* S&P 500 futures fluctuate lower; Regardless, Asian stocks are winning
* Concerns about virus mutations weighing on commodities support the dollar
SINGAPORE, Dec. 23 (Reuters) – Stock futures wobbled and commodities fell Wednesday after US President Donald Trump threw a last-minute spanner in the works for pandemic emergency plans, although Asian stocks soared as traders watched over fears of a contagious new coronavirus strain .
In a video posted to Twitter, Trump said that a stimulus bill agreed after months of arguing in Congress was “an embarrassment” and that he wanted to raise “ridiculously low” checks from $ 600 for individuals to $ 2,000.
The possibility of a postponement of such long-awaited and hard-won spending plans drove the S&P 500 futures down to 1% below Tuesday’s close of the index, although they recovered and were about 0.3% below the close.
FTSE futures are down 0.2% and EuroSTOXX 50 futures are down 0.1%, while oil futures are down 1.5% to retest lows from Monday, when concerns about the coronavirus caused a sharp sell-off.
Treasuries also took a bid, with ten-year US Treasury futures two ticks higher during the Asia session and US ten-year Treasury yields a basis point lower.
“We personally think the president will sign the bill at the last possible moment,” Andrew Brenner, NatAlliance’s chief international fixed income, said in an email after Trump’s message.
“But the real reality star will wait until the end,” he said. “Bond markets close at 2pm on Thursday, while stocks close at 1pm – it could go down until the last minute.”
Some traders said Trump’s push for higher stimulus could lead to a spike in spending.
The bill can be changed if the leadership of Congress wants to, and if they don’t, Trump’s choice is to sign the bill, veto or do nothing and let it become law.
The stimulus funds are needed as the US recovery is stagnating and hospitals grapple with a nationwide spike in infections, while an even more contagious variant of the coronavirus is spreading quickly in England.
The US dollar clung to Tuesday’s gains in tight trading, although signs that a minor virus outbreak in Sydney could be contained gave the Australian dollar a small boost.
Asian equity markets posted broad, albeit patchy, gains as investors focused on domestic economic strengths.
MSCI’s widest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan broke three days of declines up 0.6%, led by a jump in electric vehicle stocks in South Korea and China after LG Electronics announced a manufacturing deal.
Technology and healthcare stocks pushed Japan’s Nikkei 0.3% higher and Australian stocks rose 0.7%, although volumes were quite low.
With a handful of trading days to go in 2020, investors are still unsure whether Britain and the European Union can agree on a post-Brexit trade deal and what impact the new virus strain, if any, will have on vaccinations.
ITV’s political editor said in a late-night tweet that separate sources had raised the possibility that Britain and the European Union might conclude a trade deal on Wednesday.
The British pound climbed above $ 1.3400 in Asia and was last at $ 1.3406 and 90.88 pence bought a euro. The dollar index remained stable at 90,465.
Crude oil futures fell 1.5% to $ 49.34 a barrel and US crude oil fell 1.5% to $ 46.33.
Gold suffered losses after Tuesday’s gains in the dollar and remained mostly stable at $ 1,864 an ounce. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook in Singapore. Additional reporting by Megan Davies John McCrank in New York; edited by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger)