The talks are up against the wire with federal funding lapsing at 12:01 a.m. ET on Saturday. Last-minute disputes preventing Congress from passing a relief deal include direct payments, small business loans and a boost to unemployment insurance.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the record-setting week with a 120-point loss, while the S&P 500 halted a three-day winning streak in volatile trading.
"An agreement remains elusive," said Mark Hackett, Nationwide’s chief of investment research. "New arguments have complicated negotiations, including a Republican push to explicitly terminate the Fed's emergency lending programs and a Democratic request to match 100% of FEMA payouts for the pandemic."
