Asian stocks climb as US paves way to reopen economy
Shares saw strong gains across the regionPresident Donald Trump outlined plans for the reopening and investors assessed a report that Gilead Sciences Inc. is seeing improvements in coronavirus sufferers taking its drug
Asian stocks rose with U.S. and European futures amid tentative steps to restart the American economy and progress on the fight against the coronavirus. Treasuries fell with the dollar.
Shares saw strong gains across the region, while contracts on the S&P 500 jumped over 3%. President Donald Trump outlined plans for the reopening and investors assessed a report that Gilead Sciences Inc. is seeing improvements in coronavirus sufferers taking its drug. Treasury yields advanced, while oil fluctuated around $20 a barrel. Gold slipped, though the yen strengthened against the greenback.
In a volatile U.S. session Thursday, the S&P 500 closed higher and the Nasdaq 100 wiped out its losses for 2020. Shares of Boeing Co. surged after-hours after saying it will resume commercial plane production at a plant near Seattle next week. Traders are now waiting for the latest economic data from China to assess the impact of the coronavirus there.
With investor focus on economic data this week, China is due to release GDP, industrial production, retail sales and jobless figures later Friday. In the U.S., more than 5 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the total in the month since the outbreak throttled the U.S. economy to 22 million. New home construction declined in March from the previous month by the most since 1984.
“The market is a bit optimistic right now," and is underestimating the hit to earnings, David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, said on Bloomberg TV. “Ultimately we have to have really great coordination in order to see any real improvement in the economy."
Trump’s guidelines could allow states and employers to abandon within four weeks most social distancing practices to curb the coronavirus outbreak. The president has been eager to return Americans to work and to schools even as the outbreak crests in the U.S., with more than 650,000 cases and 31,000 deaths. He briefed governors Thursday on guidelines his administration titled “Opening Up America Again."
Elsewhere, the Australian dollar climbed and the country’s bonds fell amid the risk-on tone.
These are some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 advanced 3.3% as of 10:29 a.m. in Tokyo. The gauge climbed 0.6% on Thursday.
- Japan’s Topix index added 1.7%.
- South Korea’s Kospi rose 3.2%.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 2.6%.
Currencies
- The euro rose 0.3% to $1.0876.
- The yen rose 0.2% to 107.70 per dollar.
- The offshore yuan traded up 0.3% to 7.0707 per dollar.
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries climbed five basis points to 0.68%.
- Australia’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 0.87%.
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude was at $19.97 a barrel, up 0.5%.
- Gold fell 0.3% to $1,713 an ounce.
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