Stocks jumped on Monday as investors were encouraged by a slowdown in coronavirus-related deaths and new cases, while oil prices skidded after Saudi-Russian negotiations to cut output were delayed, keeping oversupply concerns alive, Reuters reported.
Equity investors took solace as the death toll from the coronavirus slowed across major European nations including France and Italy.
U.S. stock futures rose 4% in Asian hours, trading close to its upper limit after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed hope the country was seeing a “levelling off” of the coronavirus crisis.
London’s FTSE was up 3.2% in early trading, while Germany’s DAX index was 4% higher.
“The stabilisation we are seeing in the market today is welcomed but it is something really fragile,” said Frank Benzimra, head of Asia equity strategy at Societe Generale.
In commodity markets, Brent crude fell as much as $4 after Saudi Arabia and Russia postponed their meeting, initially scheduled for Monday, to Thursday even as the virus pandemic pummels demand.
“With a very light calendar globally today, there is enough momentum to keep the equity rally running through the course of the day and also into European time,” said Jeffrey Halley, Senior Market Analyst, Asia Pacific, OANDA. “All bets are off after that although I could see a couple of days of positive sentiment ahead, especially if those mortality rates keep falling.”
In currency markets, sterling fell 0.06% in Asia after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to the hospital following persistent coronavirus symptoms 10 days after testing positive for the virus.
In Asia, Australia’s benchmark index rose 4.33%; Japan’s Nikkei added 4.24% after a slow start while South Korea’s KOSPI index climbed 3.85%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was 2.18% higher.
That sent MSCI’s broadest index of Asian shares outside of Japan up almost 2.03%, on track for its best performance in over a week.
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