Asian shares advanced on Thursday, riding a wave of optimism about a possible treatment for the coronavirus that set off a rally on Wall Street powerful enough to override data showing the U.S. economy had logged its worst quarterly performance since 2009.
Asian Shares
- Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 2.6% in morning trading to 20,277.56.
- Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.3% to 5,461.00.
- The Shanghai Composite added 1.2% to 2,854.85.
- Markets in South Korea and Hong Kong were closed for holidays.
Currency Markets
- The U.S. dollar inched up to 106.69 Japanese yen from 106.67 yen Wednesday.
- The euro slipped to $1.0869 from $1.0875.
Oil Prices
Oil prices are continuing their extreme swings after a collapse in demand has sent crude storage tanks close to their limits.
- Benchmark U.S. crude oil rose $1.24 to $16.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
- Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose $1.14 to $23.68 a barrel.
